Pesce Surname in Italy

The surname Pesce is found throughout Italy, with a particularly strong concentration in the North and in Liguria. Several related forms share the same root: Pesci is more typical of central and northern Italy; Pescini is mainly Tuscan, especially in the Florentine area; Pescio and Pescetto are characteristically Ligurian; Pescione appears to be Campanian, with a nucleus in Avella; Pesciolini is typical of Florence and Incisa in Val d’Arno; Pescioni is associated with Prato; and Pesciotti is Roman. There are also rare or very rare variants such as Pescetta, Pescetti and Pesciarelli, with localized presences in eastern Veneto, in the Macerata area, and with one branch in Rome and another in the Ancona area. These surnames are usually traced back to the medieval personal name Pesce, which, in Christian symbolism, could evoke the idea of a good Christian or a faithful Catholic. In some cases, however, an origin from a nickname remains possible, either in reference to fishing as a trade or to the ancestor’s physical or behavioural traits. Early evidence of these forms is found in Liguria as far back as the 17th century.