Sanna Surname in Italy

A distinctly Sardinian surname, most likely born as a nickname. Its clearest origin is the dialect word sanna, meaning “tusk” or “canine tooth”, which may have referred either to a physical feature of the teeth or, more broadly, to a person with a forceful temperament. Another interpretation links it to the family’s place of origin or dwelling near a rocky spur. The word is very ancient and is connected with Old Italian sanna, as well as with Longobard zan and ultimately Germanic zahn. The surname is recorded in medieval Sardinian documents and appears in several major condaghi; it is also found among the signatories of the Peace of Eleonora of 1388. Its early attestation and its present-day concentration in northern and central Sardinia suggest a Logudorese or Gallurese origin, where the form sanna remained more stable than in other areas of the island, which also used different local terms for “tusk”.