The Italian surname Greco is derived from Latin graecus, meaning “born in Greece” ou “coming from Greece”. Therefore, it originally indicated the origin of the progenitor from whom it was so called.
Another theory stated that the last name could be linked to nicknames with analogical value, that is, the bearer of that surname could be physically similar or have temperament similar to that of a Greek person.
The Greco in Italy
This surname comes from ancient times, when the southern Italy It was inhabited by the Greeks. Its main city-states (polis) were Naples (Neapolis) and Salerno.
Further south, on the island of Sicily, was the city-state of SIRACUSA, in the 8th century BC. Currently, the Greco name is spread across almost all provinces of Italy, but it is still predominant especially in the southern region of the country.
Among its variants, the grecco is typical of Lazio and last name Greek It is found mainly in Lazio and also in the provinces of Rome, Frosinone and in the province of Parma.
Popularity of the Greco family
According to the Italian website Cognomix, there are today approximately 13.416 Families Greco in Italy, and it is the most popular in the region of Puglia, with 3.234 families. The surname also has thousands of occurrences in the regions of Sicilia (2.609) and Calabria (1.867)
In the province of Cosenza, which is in Calabria, it is the surname champion of records, as well as in the city of Mendicino, which is in Cosenza.
According to the site Forebears, after Italy, the countries where the surname is most popular are the United States, Argentina, In Canada and Brazil.
Geographical distribution of the surname in Italy:
Family in Brazil
Regarding family immigration records to Brazil, research shows that Antonio Grecco and his wife Catarina Criscuolo Grecco came to Brazil from the city of Pisciotta, Campania region, province of Salerno, in 1890.
A few years later his brother came Victor Grecco, 11 years old at the time. The family settled in Crucilândia, in the then village of Rio do Peixe, in Minas Gerais, today Piracema, in the commerce sector.
Three cousins also came, the first being Aniello, aged 18, in 1896, Giuseppe in 1899, aged 26, and Vito, aged 9, in 1900. The cousins settled in Itapecerica and later moved to Santo Antônio do Monte, the two cities also in the state of Minas Gerais.
Biographies
There are some well-known people with this surname in Brazil, such as the sports journalist Antero Greco, 67 years old, currently commentator on the program SportsCenter da ESPN Brazil and games broadcast on ESPN channels.
Actress Gabriella Di Grecco, 33 years old, is also a singer, performer and composer and became known for the soap opera Beyond time (2015) from TV Globo. She can also be seen in the special episode “Bia: A World Inside Out” from the series “Bia”, on the channel Disney Channel.
FOLLOW-US
