Italian Last Names Starting With S: Meanings, Origins, and Pronunciation

Italian last names starting with S cover some of the most recognizable surnames in Italy, from Santoro and Silvestri to Sorrentino and Sforza. Most fall into four families: place names, occupations, nicknames, and first names or saints. If you are tracing a family name or looking for an S surname that also works as a girl first name, this guide gives you 49 verified S surnames with meanings, regions, and pronunciations. For the wider picture of Italian naming, start with the Italian girl names pillar and the surname hub at Italian last names.

What Italian S Surnames Mean

Italian surnames starting with S are, in short, family names that began as descriptions of where a family lived, what its members did, what they looked like, or which saint or ancestor they were named for. Surnames became fixed in Italy between the late Middle Ages and the Council of Trent in the mid 1500s, when parishes began recording baptisms, marriages, and burials. The letter S is especially rich because it opens so many Italian words: santo (saint), scala (ladder), scuola (school), sarto (tailor), and stella (star). That is why S surnames feel both numerous and varied, and why the same root can appear in several spellings across regions.

Every meaning below was checked against Behind the Name surname entries, standard Italian vocabulary, or both. Where a derivation is uncertain, the table says so plainly. Two spellings that look identical can have different stories in different regions, so treat each entry as the best documented derivation, not the only possible one.

S Surnames From Places

Place based S surnames are the easiest to read: they usually name the town, city, or landscape a family came from. Many southern families carry these names because emigration records and parish registers identified people by their place of origin, and the name stuck.

Surname	Meaning	Origin or region	Pronunciation
Salerno	From the city of Salerno	Campania, southern Italy	sah-LEHR-noh
Sarno	From Sarno, named for the Sarno River	Campania	SAHR-noh
Savona	From the city of Savona	Liguria, northern Italy	sah-VOH-nah
Sciacca	From Sciacca in Sicily; the town name origin is uncertain	Sicily	SHAH-kah
Senese	A person from Siena	Tuscany	seh-NEH-seh
Siracusa	From Syracuse (Siracusa in Italian)	Sicily	see-rah-KOO-zah
Sorrentino	From Sorrento	Campania	sor-ren-TEE-noh
Sessa	From Sessa or Sessa Cilento	Campania	SES-sah
Scalia	From Scalea in Cosenza province, from medieval Greek meaning hoeing	Calabria	SKAH-lee-ah
Siena	From the city of Siena, named for the Gaulish Senones tribe	Tuscany	see-EH-nah
Soriano	From Soriano Calabro or Soriano nel Cimino	Southern and central Italy	soh-ree-AH-noh
Sinagra	From Sinagra in Sicily, possibly from Latin sinus (inlet) and ager (field)	Sicily	see-NAH-grah

S Surnames From Jobs and Trades

Occupational S surnames read like a medieval payroll: tailors, shoemakers, scholars, soldiers, and shield bearers. These names are useful for genealogy because a trade often stayed in a family for generations, and the same job produced different surnames in different dialects.

Surname	Meaning	Origin or region	Pronunciation
Sarto	Tailor, from Latin sartor (to mend)	General Italian	SAHR-toh
Sartori	Tailors, the plural occupational form	Widespread, common in the north	sahr-TOH-ree
Sartore	Tailor, a variant form of the same trade name	General Italian	sahr-TOH-reh
Scarpa	Shoemaker, from scarpa (shoe)	General Italian	SKAHR-pah
Scolaro	Scholar or pupil, from Latin scholaris	General Italian	skoh-LAH-roh
Scola	From scuola (school), a school worker or scholar	General Italian	SKOH-lah
Soldati	Soldiers, from soldato, ultimately Latin solidus (a Roman coin)	General Italian	sol-DAH-tee
Scuderi	Shield bearer or squire, from Latin scutarius	Sicily	skoo-DEH-ree
Serratore	Sawyer, or locksmith, from serrare (to saw) or serratura (lock)	General Italian	ser-rah-TOH-reh
Saccardo	Army supply carrier, from sacco (sack) with the suffix ardo	General Italian	sahk-KAHR-doh
Saccomanno	Army baggage handler, from medieval German sackmann	General Italian	sahk-koh-MAHN-noh
Scognamiglio	Millet thresher, from Neapolitan scugna (to thresh) and miglio (millet)	Campania	skohn-yah-MEE-lyoh

S Surnames From Nicknames and Descriptions

Descriptive S surnames started as nicknames that stuck: a forest dweller, a strongman, a curly haired ancestor, a quick footed messenger. These are the most colorful S names, and also the ones where surname lists most often invent meanings, so each entry below follows a documented derivation.

Surname	Meaning	Origin or region	Pronunciation
Silvestri	Of the forest, from the given name Silvestro	General Italian	seel-VEH-stree
Sforza	Force or strength, from sforzare (to force, to strain)	Lombardy, Milanese ducal dynasty	SFOR-tsah
Sordi	Deaf, from Latin surdus	General Italian	SOR-dee
Sgro	Curly haired, from Greek sgouros (curly)	Southern Italy	SGROH
Sanna	Tusk or fang, a nickname for a protruding tooth	Sardinia	SAHN-nah
Saitta	Arrow or lightning bolt, from Latin sagitta	Sicily	sah-EET-tah
Saetta	Arrow, bolt, or thunderbolt	Sicily and southern Italy	sah-EHT-tah
Scarsi	Poor or miserly, from scarso (scarce, scant)	General Italian	SKAHR-see
Segreti	Secret, a nickname for a confidant	General Italian	seh-GREH-tee
Serpico	Serpent, from serpe	General Italian	SEHR-pee-koh
Sciarra	Quarrel or dispute, a nickname for a quarrelsome person	Central and southern Italy	SHAHR-rah
Schiavo	Slav, later also slave, originally an ethnonym for people from Eastern Europe	General Italian	skee-AH-voh
Stella	Star	General Italian	STEL-lah

S Surnames From First Names and Saints

Patronymic S surnames come from a father’s or ancestor’s first name, and saint based S surnames come from a feast day or a shrine. Santoro is the best known example: it marks a child born on All Saints Day, from Latin Omnium Sanctorum. Names built on San or Santo work the same way, and they are among the most common S surnames in southern Italy.

Surname	Meaning	Origin or region	Pronunciation
Santoro	Born on All Saints Day, from Latin Omnium Sanctorum	Southern Italy	sahn-TOH-roh
Santi	From the given name Santi or Santo, or from santo (saint, holy)	Central Italy	SAHN-tee
Santucci	From dialect forms of the Late Latin name Sanctus	Central Italy	sahn-TOOT-chee
Sammartino	Saint Martin, from san plus Martino	General Italian	sahm-mahr-TEE-noh
Simeone	From Simeon, meaning he has heard	General Italian	see-meh-OH-neh
Sabbatini	Descendant of Sabbatino, a name tied to the Sabbath	General Italian	sahb-bah-TEE-nee
Salomone	From Solomon	General Italian	sah-loh-MOH-neh
Simone	From Simon	General Italian	see-MOH-neh
Sebastiani	From Sebastiano	General Italian	seh-bah-stee-AH-nee
Sanfilippo	From places named for a church or shrine of Saint Philip	Sicily and Calabria	sahn-fee-LEEP-poh
Santini	Little saints, a diminutive form	General Italian	sahn-TEE-nee
Silvestro	From the given name Silvestro, meaning of the forest	General Italian	seel-VEH-stroh

How to Pronounce Italian S Surnames

Italian S surnames follow a few reliable sound rules, and knowing them prevents the most common mispronunciations. First, SC before E or I sounds like SH: Sciacca is SHAH-kah, Sciarra is SHAHR-rah, and Scuderi keeps its hard sound only because the vowel after SC is U. Second, SCH always sounds like SK: Schiavo is skee-AH-voh, never shee-AH-voh. Third, S at the start of a cluster (SP, ST, SC, SG) is a plain S, never a Z: Spada, Stella, Sforza, and Sgro all start with a crisp S. Fourth, double consonants are held longer, so Sartori and Sorrentino need the doubled R, and Sammartino needs the doubled M. Finally, stress usually falls on the second to last syllable, which is why the pronunciation guides above capitalize the stressed syllable.

Two regional notes matter for S surnames. In Sardinia, surnames often end in U rather than O or I, which is why Sanna and Sanna-adjacent forms feel distinct from mainland names. In Friuli in the northeast, S plus consonant openings such as Sbarbaro are common, a pattern tied to the region’s own naming history. If a family name looks Italian but breaks the SC and SCH rules above, suspect a spelling change at immigration, which is covered in the diaspora section below.

S Surnames That Work as Girl First Names

Some S surnames cross over naturally into girl first names, and this is where the surname list meets the naming question most readers actually have. Stella is the clearest case: it is already an established girl name meaning star, and it pairs easily with Italian middle names. Serena, from sereno (clear, calm), works the same way, and Siena has entered girl name lists in the spelling Sienna. Sabrina and Sabina come from the Sabine tribe root rather than from surnames, but they sit naturally beside Sabbatini and Sanna in an S shortlist. Santina, the feminine diminutive behind Santini, is a traditional choice in southern families, and Selva (wood, forest) is a rarer nature option. For more S options in first name form, see Italian girl names starting with S and Italian girl names with meanings.

Famous women show how well these names travel. Sophia Loren was born Sofia Villani Scicolone, carrying an S surname into international fame. Sabrina Salerno built a pop career under a place based S surname. Sara Simeoni, the Olympic high jump champion, and tennis players Francesca Schiavone and Mara Santangelo all carried S surnames that are instantly read as Italian abroad. Stefania Sandrelli and singer Annalisa Scarrone are further examples of S surnames worn by well known Italian women. None of this makes a surname automatically a good first name, but it shows which S names already sound natural in public life.

S Surnames in the Italian Diaspora

Italian S surnames changed spelling more often than most families realize, because immigration officers and later generations spelled what they heard. The best documented example is Scorsese: Behind the Name notes it arose from a transcription error for Scozzese, the name for a Scotsman, which shows how a single misread letter can create a new surname line. Similar changes hit SC and SCH names hardest, since English speakers hear SH where Italian writes SCH, and SK where Italian writes SC before A, O, or U. If your family name is spelled with SH or a doubled consonant that no Italian record matches, look for the SC, SCH, or single consonant original in ship manifests and parish registers.

Diaspora families also simplified endings. Surnames ending in I, the plural form, sometimes lost a letter or gained an E in English records, and southern names with doubled consonants (Sorrentino, Sammartino) were often shortened to a single consonant. When researching, search every spelling variant: Sarto, Sartor, Sartori, and Sartore can all belong to one family line, and Sciacca, Sciascia, and Scaccia may be the same name filtered through different dialects and clerks.

The Authenticity Test: Errors Competitors Get Wrong

Surname lists on the web are often padded, and the S lists are no exception. The most shared S list, on thegetrealmom.com, advertises 100 names but repeats at least a dozen entries, including Sartori, Scafidi, Scarlatti, Scolari, Scavone, Sciascia, Sforzini, Sicurella, Signorelli, Silvestri, Simeoni, Siniscalchi, Siragusa, and Sorrentino, so the real count is far lower than the headline claims. It also gives Saccardi the meaning sacred heart, while Behind the Name traces Saccardo to an army supply carrier, from sacco (sack), with the transferred sense of looter. A second list, on momjunction.com, gives only 12 Italian S names and misstates two of them: it says Sanna means lily, while Behind the Name derives Sanna from sanna or zanna (tusk, fang), a nickname for a protruding tooth, especially common in Sardinia; and it derives Sala from Sal meaning building, while Behind the Name gives sala as hall or large room, an occupational name for a manor house worker. A third style of competitor, the genealogy directory igenea.com, mixes Italian names with German, Scottish, and English S surnames on the same page, so readers cannot tell which entries are Italian at all. This article avoids all three traps: no duplicates, no invented meanings, and Italian entries only, with uncertain derivations labeled as such. Meanings here can be cross checked in the Behind the Name index of Italian S surnames.

How to Choose an S Surname for a Baby Girl

Choosing an S surname as a first name, or pairing a first name with an S surname, comes down to sound, meaning weight, and family fit. Sound first: say the full name aloud with the family surname, and watch for awkward clusters where an S first name runs into an S surname, as in Stella Sorrentino, which can blur in speech. Meaning second: decide whether the story matters to you, since Stella (star) and Serena (calm) carry transparent meanings while Sforza (force) and Schiavo (a loaded ethnonym) carry histories a child would have to explain. Family fit third: a place name such as Salerno or Siena honors a real ancestral town, while a saint name such as Santina honors a feast day or a grandmother’s name day. If you are still weighing meanings, the full directory at Italian girl names A to Z lets you compare S options against every other letter before you commit. For the M letter, see Italian surnames starting with M.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Italian last names starting with S reward a little digging: behind a short name like Sanna or Sgro sits a nickname, a trade, a town, or a saint’s feast. The 49 names above give you the documented meaning, the region, and the pronunciation for each, without the duplicates and invented glosses that fill most S lists. If your family name is here, you now know which of the four families it belongs to. If you are choosing a name for a daughter, Stella, Serena, Siena, and Santina are the S surnames most ready to cross into first name use. Either way, check the original parish or ship record before treating any single derivation as final, since regional dialects and immigration spellings can shift a name’s story.