Show ContentsManzini History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Venice, one of the oldest and most beautiful island regions of Italy, is the esteemed birthplace of numerous prominent families, including the family that bears the surname Manzini. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most common type of family name found in Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's givenname, names derived from occupations are also found. Occupational surnames, which are less common than other types of surnames in Italy, date back to the feudal era. However, under the Feudal System, occupational names did not become hereditary until the offices themselves became hereditary. It was only after an occupation was inherited by several generations in lineal descent that occupational names came to be applied to entire families, and so became a hereditary surname. The surname Manzini is a common occupational name for a person who raised steers having being derived from the Italian word Manzo, meaning steer. During the Middle Ages, Italian society was primarily based on agriculture and accordingly agricultural occupations were quite frequently shown in the development of these surnames.

Early Origins of the Manzini family

The surname Manzini was first found in Friuli (Venetian: Friul), an area of northeastern Italy, with Patriarca di Aquileia Volserico Manzano in 1083.

Early History of the Manzini family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Manzini research. The years 1500, 1785 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Manzini History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Manzini Spelling Variations

There are many variations of most of those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. Some of these come from regional differences, like the tradition of ending northern names in "o" and southern names in "i". Others come from inaccuracies in the recording process, which were extremely common in the eras before dictionaries standardized spelling. Some of the spelling variations of Manzini are Manzo, Manzano, Manzoni, Manzonni, Manzonne, Mansone, Manzu, Manzuoli, Manzuolo, Manzi, Manzoli, Manzolo, Manzano, Manzelli, Manzina, Manzini and many more.

Early Notables of the Manzini family

Prominent among members of the family was

  • Cianciano Manzano was commander of the castle of Manzano, which stands in Friulì. The Manzini family of Modena was one of the most powerful families in the city during the medieval period. Giovanni Ma...

Manzini Ranking

In South Africa, the name Manzini is the 346th most popular surname with an estimated 19,870 people with that name. 1


United States Manzini migration to the United States +

An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Manzini or a variant listed above:

Manzini Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Antonio Manzini, aged 32, who settled in America from Peglio, Italy, in 1909
  • Amengo Manzini, aged 29, who immigrated to the United States from Genova, Italy, in 1910
  • Assunta Manzini, aged 23, who landed in America from Bologna, Italy, in 1911
  • Cosmo Manzini, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States from Elenio, Itly, in 1911
  • Erminia Manzini, aged 23, who landed in America from Piteghi, Italy, in 1911
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Manzini (post 1700) +

  • Conte Carlo Antonio Manzini (1599-1677), Italian astronomer and mathematician
  • Pier Angelo Conti- Manzini (1946-2003), Italian bronze medalist rower at the 1968 Summer Olympics
  • Gianna Manzini (1896-1974), Italian writer
  • Raimondo Manzini (1901-1988), Catholic journalist and former Christian Democratic member of Italy's Parliament
  • Mike Manzini (b. 1972), South African football defender


  1. "Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames


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