Basso
An old personal-name surname, likely from a short-form Germanic name meaning “low” or possibly related to Latin-based naming traditions.
The #8,144 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 75,859 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is probably connected to an early personal name rather than directly to the Italian adjective basso. In older Germanic naming, forms like Basso and related short names appear as given names, and some scholars also compared them with forms meaning “low” or “short.” In Italy, Basso can also reflect Latin or Romance influence, where the form was used as a personal name and later became hereditary as a surname.
History
Historical references show Basso used as a given name in early Germanic and Anglo-Saxon contexts, and later as a surname in parts of Europe. The surname is common in Italy today, where it may have developed from a byname, a baptismal name, or, in some cases, a descriptive nickname. English-language surname collections also list Basso among names with musical or descriptive associations, but that is less certain than the personal-name explanation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name Basso turns up in very early medieval records as a personal name, not just as a modern surname.
From the historical record
“Altobasse.— Nick. Possibly from the high and low range of voice. But see legal ' alto et basso,' the submission of all difi*erences, high and low, to an adjudicator (Bailey's Diet., 1743). Peter Alto-basse. O.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)