RUSSO is the equivalent to ROSSI = red, in Sicilian dialect.

F. Miranda notes that this surname derives from dialect nicknames linked to the reddish colour of the hair or complexion of the first bearer, and is documented in imperial Latin as Rubius and Rossius. Its Late Latin forms were Russus, Rubius and Rubes, from which numerous variants developed such as Rossi, Rosso, Rossa, Russi, Lo Russo, Lorusso, Rosselli, Ruggiu and Rossetti. G. P. Holmes agrees in noting the origin in dialect nicknames related to the reddish colouring of the hair or complexion.

F. De Laurentiis highlights that it is a surname proper to the south of Italy, with a greater presence in Palermo and Taranto, followed by Naples and Catania. Miranda confirms this southern distribution and adds that, just as Rossi predominates in northern Italy, Russo is its equivalent in the south, with a strong concentration in Campania, Sicily, Apulia, Calabria and Basilicata, besides a significant presence in regions of the centre and north such as Lazio, Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Molise and Sardinia.