The surname Mastrogiovanni belongs to the broad group of surnames derived from Mastro, a word characteristic of southern Italy coming from the Latin magister ("master", "chief", "expert"). During the Middle Ages and the early modern period, this term was used as a title of respect for specialized craftsmen, masters of a trade, builders, carpenters, blacksmiths and other people recognized for their knowledge and skills.

In the southern Italian regions, especially in Campania, Calabria, Sicily, Basilicata and Puglia, the title mastro was usually placed before the given name in order to distinguish a person within the community. Thus arose expressions such as Mastro Giovanni, Mastro Pietro, Mastro Antonio or Mastro Andrea, which originally meant "master Giovanni", "master Pietro", and so on.

With the passing of time, many of these designations ceased to be simple appellatives and became hereditary surnames. In the course of this process, the two elements merged in writing, giving rise to numerous compound surnames such as Mastrogiovanni, Mastropietro, Mastroantonio, Mastroandrea, Mastrangelo, Mastronardo and many others.

From the onomastic point of view, these surnames represent the combination of a professional title and a personal name, a phenomenon especially frequent in southern Italy. Consequently, Mastrogiovanni originally meant "Giovanni the master" or "master Giovanni", referring to a person who enjoyed prestige for his trade or position within the community.

The great number of surnames formed by joining Mastro with given names is a testimony to the importance that the craft trades had in traditional Italian society. These compounds preserve the memory of old forms of personal identification which, in time, became surnames handed down from generation to generation.

For this reason, the compound surnames with Mastro do not necessarily indicate kinship among themselves; rather, they usually arose independently from different individuals known locally by expressions such as Mastro Giovanni, Mastro Pietro or Mastro Antonio.