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Tuscany, 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 Massei. 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; 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 Tuscany 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 that 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 Massei is a name for a person who worked on a farm as a manager deriving its origin from the ancient Italian word massaio.
The surname Massei was first found in the town of Lucca. Records are found in 1285 with Mazzeo di Gerardo Mazzei, mayor of the Commune of Pietrasanta.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Massei research. The years 1439, 1450, 1516, 1526, 1569, 1633, 1653, 1687, 1723, 1730, 1766 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Massei History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Massei are Massari, Massaro, Amassari, Massai, Massarelli, Massarini, Massarino, Massarin, Massaroli, Massarolli, Massariolo, Massarotti, Massarotto, Massarutti, Massarutto, Massarut, Massardo, Massarente, Massarenti, Massiani, Massei and many more.
Prominent among members of the family was
The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Massei: Giacomo Massiano, who sailed on the S.S. Olympia from Naples, arriving at the Port of New York on 25 July 1896; Giuseppe Massio, who arrived in New York City aboard the Orsola March 8, 1882.