CASALE
The surname Casale is of Italian origin and has been in use since the late medieval period. It is a toponymic surname, indicating that the original bearer either lived in or was associated with a rural dwelling known locally as a casale.
In Italian the word casale means “farmhouse” or “rural house”. The term derives ultimately from the Latin casa, meaning a small house, and its diminutive form casalis. Consequently the surname indicates a link to the smaller, agricultural dwellings that were common across the Italian countryside.
Because the name is linked to a place of residence, it can be described as a locational surname. In some areas it may also function as a topographical descriptor, referring to a particular house or settlement called Casale. Where a person moved away from such a place, the name served as a convenient identifier of their origin.
The spelling of the name has varied over time and across regions, reflecting both local dialects and the absence of standardised orthography until the modern era. Common historical spellings include Casal, Casali, Cazal, Casar, Cazalet, Caseletti, Casalone and several other derivatives. In the 14th century surnames became hereditary, yet some Italian families continued to add patronymic or diminutive suffixes such as ini or elli to the base name, which can complicate lineage research.
Documentary evidence of the surname is found in ecclesiastical records that survive from the post‑medieval period. For example, a Daniele Casale is recorded as marrying Mariam Radina in Piano di Arta, Udine, on 1 June 1673. Another instance is that of Carmelo Cassara, who was christened in Gela, Caltanissetta, on 2 March 1861. Such entries demonstrate the surname’s presence in various parts of Italy.
The surname Casale is relatively common and can be found throughout Italy, from the north to the south. It carries with it an ordinary yet historically rooted meaning of rural habitation, and its many variants reflect the linguistic diversity of the Italian peninsula. The name remains a succinct marker of geographic and cultural identity that has been preserved through centuries of documentary tradition.
Typical given names associated with the Casale surname
Male
- Alessandro
- Antonio
- David
- Domenico
- Fabio
- Giovanni
- Jonathan
- Nicholas
- Peter
- Roger
- Vincenzo
Female
- Adelina
- Angela
- Claudia
- Daniela
- Elena
- Jean
- Maria
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Ta
- Venetia
Similar and related surnames
- Casa
- Casal
- Casali
- Casalis
- Casals
- Cascales
- Casel
- Caselay
- Caseley
- Casell
- Casella
- Caselli
- Casells
- Casely
- Casiell
- Casiello
- Casile
- Casle
- Cassal
- Cassall
- Cassel
- Cassele
- Cassell
- Cassella
- Casselle
- Cassello
- Cassells
- Cassels
- Cassely
- Cassle
- Cassol
- Castle
- Castles
- Cazal
- Cazala
- Cazaley
- Cazals
- Cazaly
- Cazel
- Kasal
- Kasala
- Kassal
- Kastle
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Casale in...
Braille
⠉⠁⠎⠁⠇⠑
Morse
-.-..-....-.-...
Semaphore
There are approximately 144 people named Casale in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around two in a million people in Britain are named Casale.
Famous people named Casale
- Roger Casale - Labour Member of Parliament for Wimbledon, 1997 - 2005
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.