Pagano
An Italian surname that originally meant “countryman” or “villager,” later also associated with “pagan” in a Christian context.
The #4,186 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 36,473 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pagano comes from Italian pagano, ultimately from Latin paganus. In classical Latin, paganus first meant “country dweller” or “villager,” from pagus, a district or rural settlement. In later Christian Latin it also came to mean “heathen” or “non-Christian,” and both senses appear in older surname explanations.
History
The name is especially well established in Italy, where it likely began as a descriptive byname. Some older writers also note that Pagano was used as a personal name in Italy in medieval times, which helped preserve it as a surname. In the English-language surname literature, it is often compared with related forms such as Payne and Payne-like developments from the same Latin root.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root pagus gave rise to words that could mean either a rural district or, later, a “pagan,” which is why this surname has two overlapping historical senses.
From the historical record
“Flaco. La personao animal de pocas carnes. Flojo sin fuerza ni vigor. Endeble, sin fuerza. De memoria.—El olvi- dadizo. Fentil. El idólatra pagano. Brioso, galan, gracioso. Notable. Noble. Flecha Saeta Obra de dos caras i dos lados. Flor. Organo de la fructificacion de las plantas. El pol-”
— Diccionario de los apellidos