Anastasi is a Southern Italian surname with roots in the Greek-Byzantine cultural legacy of Sicily and Calabria. The name derives from the Greek personal name Anastasios — from anastasis, meaning 'resurrection' — which was widely used in the Byzantine Empire and entered Southern Italy through centuries of Greek colonisation and Byzantine rule. The name is concentrated in Sicily (particularly the provinces of Messina and Catania) and in Calabria, regions where the Greek presence was most enduring.
SicilyCalabriaSouthern Italy
History and Origins
Sicily and Calabria were part of Magna Graecia — Greater Greece — from the eighth century BC, when Greek colonists established thriving city-states along the coasts of Southern Italy. Greek cultural and linguistic influence persisted in these regions long after the Roman conquest, and the Byzantine Empire's control of Southern Italy from the sixth to the eleventh centuries AD reinforced the Greek inheritance. The name Anastasios — and the surname Anastasi that derived from it — belongs to this long Byzantine-Greek tradition.
The Byzantine Legacy in Sicily
The Byzantine Empire controlled much of Sicily and Southern Italy from the sixth century until the Norman conquest of the eleventh century. During this period, Greek-speaking populations, Greek Orthodox Christianity, and Greek naming traditions remained dominant in many communities. Personal names with Greek roots — Anastasios, Teodoro, Giorgio, Nicola — became embedded in the naming culture of these regions and eventually evolved into hereditary surnames as Italy's surname system developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Sicilian Migration
Like most Sicilian surnames, Anastasi spread through the great emigrations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1880 and 1930, millions of Southern Italians — including hundreds of thousands from Sicily — emigrated to the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. The Anastasi name established itself in Italian-American and Italian-Australian communities through this migration.
The Italian Diaspora
Anastasi families emigrated primarily to the United States (particularly New York and New Jersey), Argentina, Brazil, and Australia during the great Southern Italian migration of 1880–1930. The name has a notable presence in Italian-Australian communities in Victoria and New South Wales.
In sport, Pete Anastasi (1948–2021) was a celebrated Australian rules footballer and AFL administrator of Italian-Australian descent. The Anastasi name also appears in American academic and professional communities descended from Sicilian immigrants.
How to Research Anastasi Ancestry
Anastasi research should focus on Sicily, particularly the provinces of Messina and Catania, and on Calabria. Italian civil registration records (stato civile) begin in 1866 for most of Italy. Earlier parish records (atti di battesimo, matrimonio, sepoltura) held in diocesan archives are essential for pre-unification research. The Sicilian regional archives in Palermo hold records from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. For American emigrants, Ellis Island and the Castle Garden database cover most arrivals from 1892 onward.
Notable Anastasi Families
- Anastasia (d. c. 304 AD) — Early Christian martyr venerated as a saint in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches, from whom the personal name and later the surname ultimately derive.
- Pietro Anastasi (1948–2021) — Italian professional footballer, one of Italy's most celebrated strikers of the 1960s and 1970s. Played for Juventus and the Italian national team.
- Anne Anastasi (1908–2001) — American psychologist of Italian descent, renowned for her work on psychological testing and differential psychology. Past president of the American Psychological Association.
- Giovanni Anastasi — Contemporary Italian architect based in Milan, known for residential and cultural heritage projects in Northern Italy.
Related Italian Surnames
Often found in the same regions and emigration records: