Massaro
An Italian surname usually linked to a farm steward, tenant, or agricultural worker.
The #6,651 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 60,669 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Massaro is an Italian occupational surname. It is commonly traced to Italian massaro, meaning a farm manager, steward, tenant farmer, or rural overseer, ultimately from Medieval Latin massarius, “one who manages a farm or estate.” The word is related to the idea of a rural holding or farm household, so the surname originally pointed to someone who worked in or administered agricultural land.
History
The surname is found especially in southern Italy, where dialect forms of the word were widely used in village and estate life. As with many occupational surnames, it became hereditary over time and was carried by emigrants to the Americas and elsewhere. In modern records it appears in several spellings, but Massaro is the standard Italian form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older Italian usage, a massaro was often more than a simple farmhand: the title could imply responsibility for managing land, stock, or rents.
Notable people named Massaro
- Daniele Massaro (b. 1961)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.