Show ContentsCirillo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Cirillo surname is derived from the place name Cirillo, located in south central Italy. As such, it is classed as a local name, derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, but does not necessarily denote nobility.In the local dialect of Cirillo, the place-name is pronounced Cercelle, while natives are called Circellese. Alternatively, the surname Cirillo may come from a personal name, ultimately derived from the Greek mythological name Circe.

Early Origins of the Cirillo family

The surname Cirillo was first found in the year 1153, when records show Filippo Ciria of Cremona, who was made the Bishop of Capua.

Early History of the Cirillo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cirillo research. The years 1500, 1630, 1709 and 1739 are included under the topic Early Cirillo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cirillo Spelling Variations

There are many variations of most of those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. Some of these come from regional differences, like the tradition of ending northern names in "o" and southern names in "i". Others come from inaccuracies in the recording process, which were extremely common in the eras before dictionaries standardized spelling. Some of the spelling variations of Cirillo are Cirillo, Ciri, Ciraulo, Ciraula, Cirauli, Cirilli, Cirilla, Cirilo, Cirili, Cirila, Ciriaci, Ciria, Ciriani, Cirotto, Cirotti, Cirello, Cirenei, Ciringhelli, Cirini, Cirino and many more.

Early Notables of the Cirillo family

Prominent among bearers of this family in early times was

  • Bernardo Cirillo, an author in L'Aquila born in 1500
  • Francesco Cirillo of Naples was a famous musician around 1630
  • Nicola Cirillo was an historian who researched and wrote the history of Naples in the 17th century
  • Giuseppe Pasquale Cirillo was a man of letters born in 1709
  • Domenico Cirillo, born in 1739, was a respected doctor in Naples

Cirillo Ranking

In the United States, the name Cirillo is the 11,727th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


Cirillo migration to the United States +

Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Cirillo, or a variant listed above:

Cirillo Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • A. Cirillo, aged 10, who settled in America, in 1892
  • A. Antonio Cirillo, aged 58, who landed in America, in 1896
Cirillo Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Alfonso Cirillo, aged 6, who landed in America from Boscotrecase, Napoli, in 1909
  • Anacleto Cirillo, aged 17, who immigrated to the United States from Di Pignallo, Italy, in 1912
  • Amelia Cirillo, aged 26, who landed in America from San Leucio, Italy, in 1913
  • Alfonso Cirillo, aged 17, who settled in America from Lauriana, Salerno, in 1914
  • Alessandrino Cirillo, aged 18, who immigrated to the United States from Monreale, Palermo, in 1914
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Cirillo (post 1700) +

  • Jeffrey Howard Cirillo (b. 1969), American Major League Baseball third baseman
  • Frank J. Cirillo, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Connecticut, 1996; Presidential Elector for Connecticut, 2000 2
  • Edward J. Cirillo, American Republican politician, Elected Arizona State Senate 15th District 1998 2
  • Domenico Cirillo (1739-1799), Italian physician and patriot, a statue of him is found in Grumo Nevano
  • Bruno "Brunillo" Cirillo (b. 1977), Italian footballer
  • Gustavo Cirillo (b. 1961), Argentine Olympic sprint canoer who competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics
  • Cirillo "Nello" Pagani (1911-2003), Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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