Monaco
A surname most often tied to the place name Monaco, meaning someone from or associated with the principality and its surroundings.
The #4,331 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,661 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Monaco is generally taken as a locational surname from the place name Monaco, the Italian form of Monaco/Monaco in Ligurian-Italian usage for the principality on the Mediterranean coast. The place name ultimately reflects Latin roots connected with a solitary monk or hermit; the same word underlies Italian monaco, meaning "monk." In surname use, it would originally have identified someone who came from Monaco or from a place called Monaco rather than describing a profession.
History
The name is strongly associated with southern Europe, especially Italy and areas influenced by Italian naming habits. In the United States it is found in small numbers and is likely to have arrived mainly through Italian immigration. Because the supplied historical excerpts do not actually discuss this surname's derivation, this entry relies on standard onomastic pattern knowledge rather than a quoted dictionary explanation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The everyday Italian word monaco means "monk," so the surname Monaco sits at an interesting crossroads between a place name and a religious term.
From the historical record
“is to be traced historically, though the position of the present representative, as ruler of the principality of Monaco and recipient of its doubtful gains, is perhaps hardly in accordance with the higher traditions of his family. The name, AlpJwnso, of a Duke of Ferrara in the middle ages, was one given also by…”
— Surnames as a Science