The set of surnames derived from Domenico has its origin in the Latin personal name Dominicus, peculiar to the late Christian sphere, formed from Dominus ("the Lord, God") and with the meaning of "consecrated or dedicated to God". This name, already documented in Italy from the 8th century, acquired an enormous diffusion from the 13th century thanks to the prestige and the cult of Dominic of Guzmán. In some cases, moreover, the name Domenico could have been assigned to children born on Sunday (Dominica dies, "day of the Lord"), reinforcing its symbolic and religious value.

From this base one of the widest onomastic families of the Italian sphere developed, with surnames of a patronymic type and an enormous variety of dialectal, hypocoristic (abbreviated) and derived forms. Among them are found variants such as Domini, De Dominis, Dominioni, Dominetti, Dominato, as well as Friulian and Venetan forms such as Dominissini, Minisini, Dominuto, Diminuto, Minato, Minatel. Some curious evolutions include phonetic transformations that gave rise to surnames such as Dell'Ominut or even Degli Uomini, arisen from popular reinterpretations of the original name.

The process of shortening and dialectal adaptation also generated multiple forms derived from hypocoristics such as Menego, Mengo, Mingo, from which come surnames such as Mengazzi, Minghetti, Mencarelli, Mengarini, among many others; or from variants such as Meco, Mico, which gave rise to Mechi, Mecherini, Michetti, Migone; as well as Tuscan forms such as Beco (from which derive Bechi, Becherini), or Venetan-Friulian ones such as Meni, origin of Menis, Menato, Menazzi, Mennini, Mennoni, etc.

As a whole, all these surnames reflect the extraordinary productivity of the name Domenico in the Italian tradition, where the combination of religious devotion, everyday use and dialectal diversity gave rise to an extensive network of variants. Although in some cases they can converge with other names of Germanic or medieval origin (such as Anselmo, Guglielmo, Arrigo or Ugo), the common root in Dominicus is, in most cases, clear and recognisable, maintaining its original meaning linked to consecration and belonging to the divine.