Petrillo

The surname Petrillo originated in Italy, particularly in the southern regions of Campania and Basilicata. It can be traced back to the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Italian personal name Pietro, which is the Italian form of the Latin name Petrus, meaning "rock" or "stone."

The Petrillo surname is believed to have emerged as a patronymic, indicating "son of Pietro." This naming convention was common in Italy during the Middle Ages when surnames were becoming more widespread. It is likely that the earliest bearers of the Petrillo surname were the descendants of a man named Pietro.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Petrillo surname can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Barese," a collection of documents from the 12th to the 16th centuries related to the city of Bari in southern Italy. This collection includes references to individuals with the surname Petrillo in the 14th and 15th centuries.

In the 16th century, the Petrillo surname appeared in various historical records, such as birth, marriage, and death records, as well as land registries and tax rolls. One notable individual from this period was Giovan Battista Petrillo, a 16th-century Italian composer and organist.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Petrillo surname continued to be prevalent in southern Italy, particularly in the regions of Campania and Basilicata. Notable bearers of the name from this period include Nicola Petrillo, an Italian painter active in the late 17th century, and Pasquale Petrillo, an 18th-century Italian composer and organist.

In the 19th century, the Petrillo surname gained wider recognition with individuals such as Enrico Petrillo, an Italian politician and lawyer who served as the Mayor of Naples from 1876 to 1878. Another notable figure was Giuseppe Petrillo, an Italian sculptor born in 1855 in Naples.

In the early 20th century, Nick Petrillo, also known as Nicholas Petrillo, was an Italian-American mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit, a prominent organized crime syndicate. He was born in 1894 in Acri, Calabria, Italy, and immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, becoming involved in organized crime activities in Chicago.

Throughout its history, the Petrillo surname has been associated with various occupations, from artists and musicians to politicians and, unfortunately, organized crime figures. While the name originated in southern Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to Italian immigration, particularly to the United States and other countries with significant Italian diaspora communities.