Show ContentsManzo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Manzo

What does the name Manzo mean?

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 Manzo. 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 Manzo 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 Manzo family

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

Early History of the Manzo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Manzo research. The years 1500, 1714, 1774, 1785 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Manzo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Manzo 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 Manzo are Manzo, Manzano, Manzoni, Manzonni, Manzonne, Mansone, Manzu, Manzuoli, Manzuolo, Manzi, Manzoli, Manzolo, Manzano, Manzelli, Manzina, Manzini and many more.

Early Notables of the Manzo family

Prominent among members of the family was

  • Torpe di Federico del Mansone of Sicily, a priest in Pisa for 7 years. His son acquired the position after his death. Pier Angelo Manzoli, a poet and philosopher in Ferrara in 1500
  • 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...

Manzo Ranking

In the United States, the name Manzo is the 4,471st most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1


Manzo migration to the United States +

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

Manzo Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Manuel Manzo, aged 45, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1829 2
  • Adelina Manzo, aged 4, who landed in America from Napoli, in 1893
  • Alfonso Manzo, aged 41, who landed in America from Cava Cerreni, in 1899
Manzo Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Alfredo Manzo, aged 4, who immigrated to the United States from Eorre Anunsiz, Italy, in 1907
  • Anna Manzo, aged 4, who landed in America from Campostello, Trapani, in 1909
  • Alfredo Manzo, aged 22, who settled in America from Potenza, Italy, in 1910
  • Angelo Manzo, aged 16, who landed in America from Onignano, Italy, in 1911
  • Anna Manzo, aged 32, who immigrated to America from Bovino, Italy, in 1912
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Manzo (post 1700) +

  • V.J. Manzo, American composer, performer, pedagogue and author
  • Louis Manzo (b. 1955), American Democratic Party politician
  • Louis M. Manzo, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly, 2004; Candidate for Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, 2004 3
  • James Manzo, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 1st District, 1948, 1950, 1952 3
  • Andrea Manzo (b. 1961), Italian football manager and former midfielder
  • Rodolfo Manzo (b. 1949), retired professional football defender from Peru


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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