Priolo Family History

Italian (southern Calabria and Sicily): from priòlu, priùli, southern Italian derivatives of Greek priolos ‘prior’, also ‘lay authority’. The Greek word in turn is derived from Latin prior. This was a nickname for someone thought to resemble a prior or an occupational name for a servant of a prior or some important lay personage. Italian: habitational name from Priolo in Siracusa province, Sicily. Altered spelling of French Prioleau.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press