The Catania surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,412 people carried this name — #9,527 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 86,200 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,294 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Catania surname
Named by the indigenous Sicel people; from Sicel katane (“grater, flaying knife, skinning place; crude tool apt to pare”) (compare Ancient Greek κατάνη (katánē)). The name was adopted by Greek settlers, survived Hellenization and passed into Roman rule.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Catania» (Italian), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,845 people named Catania live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 289 people named Catania.
Most of them — 222 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 17 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
198 people named Catania live in Switzerland.
They live in 15 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 51 people named Catania live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Catania in American newspapers,
1909–1914.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 21,016 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Catania,
with a public archive behind them.
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Salvatore Catania 1921–1972 · singer
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Saverio Catania 1935–2013 · politician -
Saverio Catania 1935–2013 · politician
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Susan Catania 1941–2023 · politician -
Minnie Euphemia Henrietta McMillan Catania d. 1953
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Effie Violet Hazel Catania d. 1954
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Catania.
- Cataldi 922 · U.S. census
- Cataldo 4,711 · U.S. census
- Catalon 155 · U.S. census
- Catan 199 · U.S. census
- Catanese 1,565 · U.S. census
- Catani 136 · U.S. census
- Catanzano 189 · U.S. census
- Catanzaro 2,851 · U.S. census
- Catarino 689 · U.S. census
- Cate 4,987 · U.S. census
- Catella 132 · U.S. census
- Catherine 350 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Catania is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.