Romeo
An Italian surname meaning “pilgrim to Rome,” originally used for someone who had made a religious journey to the holy city.
The #4,108 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,751 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Romeo comes from Italian romeo, which in medieval usage meant a pilgrim to Rome. It is ultimately from Latin Roma, “Rome,” and refers to a person associated with a journey to the city, especially a devotional one. The name was later inherited as a surname, rather than continuing to describe an actual pilgrim.
History
The surname is recorded in English etymological works as an Italian-Latin formation meaning “pilgrim to Rome.” Because of Shakespeare’s famous character, Romeo is now widely recognized as a given name as well as a surname. As a family name, it is most at home in Italian-speaking and Italian-diaspora communities.
Origin
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Fun fact
In older scholarship, Romeo was sometimes grouped with other journey-based surnames like Romer, reflecting the medieval idea of a pilgrim as a “roamer” or traveler.
From the historical record
“Rome, Lat. Roma] ROMEO (A.-Ital.-Lat.) Pilgrim to Rome [Ital. romeo ; f. Lat. Roma, Rome] ROMER (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Roamer, Wanderer; prop. Pilgrim to Rome [M,E. romer(e, O.Fr. romier ; f. Lat. Roma, Rome] And religiouse romeris [var. romares] Recordare in hir [their] cloistres. —”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)