Giardina
An Italian surname most likely linked to a garden or cultivated enclosure.
The #9,150 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,605 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Giardina is an Italian surname built on the word for a garden or enclosed cultivated plot, from Italian giardino, ultimately from Latin hortus gardinus / gardinum in later Romance development. In surname use, it would originally have identified someone who lived by, worked in, or came from a garden, orchard, or landscaped estate. In some cases it may also reflect a place-name based on the same root.
History
The surname is especially associated with southern Italy, particularly Sicily, where many surnames formed from local place-names, landscape features, or occupational ties to the land. Like many Italian surnames, it likely became hereditary in the late medieval or early modern period and later spread through migration to the Americas. In the United States, it is found among Italian-American families and remains relatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it is tied to the word for a garden, Giardina is one of those surnames that preserves a very everyday piece of medieval life in a family name.