| Meaning | From Puglia — the region of Apulia in southeastern Italy, plus the suffix -isi indicating origin |
| Origin type | Regional origin / ethnic surname |
| Frequency | Very common in Sicily, especially in Catania and eastern Sicily |
| Regions | Sicily (primary, especially Catania province); some presence in Calabria; Sicilian-American communities in New York, New Jersey, California |
| Variants | Puglisi, Pugliese (mainland variant), Pugliesi, Puglisi |
| Notable bearers | Giuseppe Puglisi (Blessed, martyr); Rosario Puglisi (Sicilian politician) |
Puglisi is a regional origin surname indicating ancestry from Puglia (Apulia) — the heel of the Italian boot, a large agricultural region known for its olive oil, wheat, and the ancient trulli of the Valle d'Itria. The name identifies a Sicilian family that traced its origins to emigrants who crossed the Strait of Messina from the Italian mainland, and whose Apulian provenance was marked in their surname.
The Sicilian suffix -isi is characteristic of eastern Sicily, particularly the area around Catania, where Puglisi is concentrated. This Catania connection is culturally significant: the province of Catania includes the slopes of Mount Etna and a deeply rooted culture of distinct local identity. The surname Puglisi is so concentrated in Catania that it is among the most characteristic surnames of the province.
Blessed Giuseppe Puglisi (1937–1993) — known as Padre Pino Puglisi — was a Catanese parish priest murdered by the Sicilian Mafia for his work with young people in the Brancaccio neighbourhood of Palermo. His beatification by Pope Francis in 2013 brought the Puglisi name to international attention as a symbol of resistance to organised crime.
Sicilian-American Puglisi families are concentrated in the northeastern United States, particularly in New York City and New Jersey, where large waves of Sicilian emigration settled between 1880 and 1924. The Portale Antenati provides access to Catania civil registration records from 1820 onward, and the Archivio di Stato di Catania holds the comprehensive provincial records.
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