Caruso
An Italian surname most often understood as a nickname from a word for a young man or servant, later made famous worldwide by the tenor Enrico Caruso.
The #1,758 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,159 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Caruso is an Italian surname, especially associated with southern Italy and Sicily. It is commonly linked to Italian dialect caruso, meaning a boy, youth, or servant, and in some local usage also to a shorn or close-cropped person. The surname therefore likely began as a nickname describing age, status, or appearance rather than as a place-name or occupation.
History
The name is strongly concentrated in southern Italy and the Italian diaspora. It became internationally familiar through the celebrated tenor Enrico Caruso (1873–1921), whose fame helped make the surname instantly recognizable outside Italy. In the United States, Caruso is now most often found in families of Italian ancestry.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Enrico Caruso was one of the first major recording stars, and his fame made the surname familiar far beyond Italian-speaking communities.