SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Mancuso

Origin and meaning

G. P. Holmes notes that this surname derives from nicknames based on the dialect word mancuso / mancosu, with the meaning "left-handed."

V. Blunda specifies that this is a surname of Sicilian and dialect origin, coming from the word mancùsu, whose meaning also covers "awkward, sinister, adverse." According to Blunda, the adjective extends the negative connotation associated with the left side to the character or fortune of the person, so that the surname could have arisen as a nickname applied to someone of harsh manner or connected with a situation of persistent bad luck. It is considered a Sicilian variant of the surname Manco.

💡 The surname Mancuso also appears as altered form of the surname Manco in other studies consulted in this project.

Geographic distribution: Sicily

📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)

Drawing on 3 authors, this entry presents the different hypotheses about the origin of the surname, avoiding a single oversimplified explanation.

Sources

This entry of the Italian Surname Meanings dictionary is based on the following specialized onomastic sources:

  • Patti Holmes, G. (2018). Alla scoperta dei cognomi siciliani. Retrieved from https://www.ilsicilia.it
  • Research conducted by Surnames in Italy, the English-language project of Ancestros Italianos, based on the bibliography cited in the references.
  • Blunda, V. (2018). Supposte origini dei cognomi in Sicilia [Digital edition]. Retrieved from https://www.trapaninostra.it