In the Beginning
Due to a lack of available research on the origin and distribution of surnames in medieval Sicily, Hull and Cassar used modern sources to hypothesize the origin of specific surnames. Possible origin points including Licata and Naro were hypothesized for the Baldacchino surname (Mario Cassar, ‘Malta and Sicily: An overview of their Cognominal Kinship’, Symposia Melitensia Vol 17 (2021), pp. 65-80 and Geoffrey Hull, ‘The Oldest Maltese Surnames: A Window on Sicily’s Medieval History’in C Karagoz, G Summerfield (eds), Sicily and the Mediterranean (2015), pp. 77-990).
However, we have benefitted from the online publication of the church registers of the Agrigento Diocese in 2022, only the third Italian diocese to do so by that time. After studying the Latin baptism registers of 11 towns in the Diocese, it seems possible that the origin for the Baldacchino surname may have been closer to the capital city of Agrigento (Girgenti), like most other early Maltese surnames. The figures below show the number of Baldacchino baptisms (with various spellings) that we have found to date in the Agrigento province from 1550-1649 when the registers first became available, with the first Baldacchino baptism found in 1568. Baldacchino baptism records have not been found until 1650 for other locations but it must be noted that virtually all of the Licata registers before this time are either missing or severely damaged (and many from 1650 to 1900 as well). There were many Baldacchino and Ballacchino births in Licata in the 1650s so they were undoubtedly present there at an earlier date.
In short, we are confident that the Baldacchino surname originated in the Province of Agrigento, Sicily but the evidence is insufficient to identify a more specific place within the province.
Internal Migration
By the latter 17th century, the Baldacchino surname was beginning to spread to other locations in Agrigento Province and, as seen in the figures below, by the latter 19th century clear patterns of movement are apparent. The movement remained mostly in Agrigento Province and the movement was toward the east of the province. This pattern was possibly influenced by the lack of investment in Sicilian road systems, with the sea remaining the most efficient means of travel. In addition, some families had found their way to the neighbouring province of Caltanisetta by the latter 1800s.
Note that civil birth registrations for Italy are widely available for the period 1820-1865 and that these registrations have been used to supplement missing or severely damaged baptism registers in Licata, Naro and Raffadali during the 19th century. These registrations have also been used to identify locations beyond Agrigento Province since baptism registers are not yet available online for other locations. Numbers are not shown in these other locations though because, although some civil registrations are available up to 1925, they are very incomplete after 1865.
The Ballacchino variant name emerged in Licata by the 17th century and was essentially the only surname in use in Licata by the beginning of the 18th century and remains so today. C Cassar describes the especially strong relationship between Malta and Licata where there had been centuries of migrants from Malta settling in Licata and vice versa (Carmel Cassar, ‘Malta & Sicily: the primacy of Licata’, Journal of the Institute of Tourism Studies Issue 5 (May 2010), pp. 18-21). For example, he writes that fearing a return of an even larger Turkish Armada:
After the Siege of 1565 there was such a multitude of Maltese settlers in Licata that these set up a new quarter which came to be known as the Borgo dei Maltesi or Borgo di San Paolo after the newly founded parish of St Paul in that area.
We have seen many baptism records in the St Paul’s, Licata registers and it seems likely that the Ballacchino variant originated amongst these Maltese settlers, even though they presumably would have known the Baldacchino spelling well. The Ballacchino surname also emerged in Raffadali in 1822, with a significant showing through the remainder of the 19th century, but then declined rapidly in the 20th century. Ballacchino settlers in Caltanisetta were likely from Licata while all other locations were Baldacchinos. Naro remains the most prevalent place in Italy today for Baldacchinos and Licata the most prevalent place for Ballacchinos.
Prior to the unification of Italy in 1861, or Risorgimento, Sicily had been part of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies for four centuries. This Kingdom included Sicily and Southern Italy, roughly south of Rome. Civil birth registrations identify that, by the early 19th century, Baldacchinos had migrated to Cosenza Province, mainly Acquaformosa, and Ballacchinos had migrated to Foggia Province, mainly Biccari, both in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Baldacchinos and Ballacchinos did eventually spread to Rome and Northern Italy, however this movement appears to have taken place primarily after the World Wars. Licata, home of the Ballacchinos, was especially hard hit by the collapse of the sulphur industry with the market dominated by the United States by the end of World War I.
See the Surname Distribution page for an overview of overseas migration from Italy/Sicily.
The Surname Today
forebears.io estimates that, in 2025, there were 753 Baldacchinos, 1 misspelled Baldachino and 504 Ballacchinos in Italy. Baldacchino is the earliest form of the name and still the most prevalent form. Although it has now spread the length of the country, the great majority of Italian Baldacchinos still live in the Agrigento Province of Sicily where the name originated likely in the 12th to 13th centuries. In the Agrigento Province, the most popular residence today is Naro, with significant numbers also in Favara and the city of Agrigento. On the Italian mainland, the most popular residence is in the vicinity of Rome but the name can be found in most provinces stretching from Milan and Turin in the north to the Province of Calabria in the south.
Although it originated many centuries after the Baldacchino surname, the Ballacchino variant name that originated in Sicily has also spread to the mainland of Italy. On the mainland, it is concentrated in the northern industrial centres of Milan and Turin, but like the Baldacchino surname, most Ballacchinos still reside in the Agrigento Province of Sicily. Licata is still by far the most populous town for this name, the same town where the first occurrences we have found of this form of the name were in the church registers of the mid-1600s. Cognomix.it reports no one residing in Licata in 2025 with the surname spelling of Baldacchino.
