Sorrentino is an Italian surname meaning "from Sorrento," a coastal town near Naples. The town's Latin name, Surrentum, is of unknown origin, possibly pre-Roman. The surname thus functions as a toponymic indicator, identifying families or individuals whose ancestors hailed from that area.
History and Distribution
Surnames deriving from place names are common in Italy, often adopted to distinguish individuals who moved to other regions. Sorrentino is especially prevalent in Campania, the region containing Sorrento and Naples. It is also found in other parts of Italy and among the diaspora, notably in the Americas.
Notable Bearers
Paolo Sorrentino (born 1970) is an internationally acclaimed film director known for works like The Great Beauty (2013), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and The Young Pope. Michael Sorrentino (known as "Mike 'The Situation'") is an American television personality from the reality series Jersey Shore. Other bearers include the American novelist Gilbert Sorrentino (1929–2006) and his son Christopher Sorrentino (born 1963), the Argentine writer Fernando Sorrentino (born 1942), and Italian footballers Lorenzo Sorrentino and Alessandro Sorrentino (born 1984, goalkeeper). Andrea Sorrentino is an Italian comic book artist known for DC Comics' Green Arrow.
- Meaning: "from Sorrento" (Italian)
- Origin: Toponymic, derived from the town of Sorrento, Campania
- Type: Surname
- Usage: Italian, and communities of Italian descent
Sources: Wikipedia — Sorrentino