Show ContentsMacri History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The distinguished surname Macri originated in an area of Italy, known as the Papal States. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt 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 traditional type of family name found in the region of the Papal States is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, the nickname type of surname is also frequently found. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The surname Macri came from a tall person. The surname Macri is derived from the Greek word makri, which means long or tall. Alternatively, the surname Macri is a local name that was originally derived from an ancient bishopric in the Roman imperial province of Mauritania Sitifiensis, in North Africa. This province was where the Aranian King Humerico expelled the Roman Catholics, including the Bishop of Macri, in 479 AD. The surname Macri was found in documents since the Middle Ages, particularly in regions where Greek and Neo-Greek influence was great, such as southern Italy.

Early Origins of the Macri family

The surname Macri was first found in Rome (Italian: Roma), the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, with earliest records showing Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, a writer and neo-Platonist philosopher during the 5th century.

Early History of the Macri family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Macri research. The years 1618 and 1707 are included under the topic Early Macri History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Macri 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 Macri are Macri, Magri, Macrillo, Macrini and many more.

Early Notables of the Macri family

Prominent among members of the family was

  • Stefano Macri, secretary of the King of Sicily in the 15th century
  • Algiazio Macris was the landlord of 10 territories around Naples. Francesco-Maria Macri was a famous judge of the noble court in Messina in 1618

Macri Ranking

In the United States, the name Macri is the 12,382nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1]


United States Macri migration to the United States +

Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Macri or a variant listed above:

Macri Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Anchogio Macri, aged 26, who landed in America from Acquaro, in 1902
  • Antonia Macri, aged 11, who immigrated to America from Messina, Italy, in 1907
  • Angelina Macri, aged 0, who settled in America from Novara, Italy, in 1908
  • Antonino Macri, aged 32, who landed in America from Finmara, Reggio Calabria, Sicily, in 1912
  • Angela Macri, aged 6, who immigrated to the United States from Chiaravalle, Italy, in 1912
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Macri (post 1700) +

  • Matthew Michael Macri (b. 1982), American Major League Baseball player
  • Teresa Macri, Italian art critic, curator, and writer
  • Ana Carmen Macri (1916-2022), Argentine politician who was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1951 as one of the first group of female parliamentarians in Argentina
  • Mauricio Macri (b. 1959), Argentine businessman elected Mayor of Buenos Aires in 2007


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/


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