Corso
A surname that can be Italian, sometimes linked to Corsica or to a byname meaning “Corsican.”
The #6,984 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,349 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Corso is most naturally explained as an Italian surname from the word corso, meaning “Corsican” or “of Corsica,” ultimately from Latin Corsicus/Corsus, a form tied to the island of Corsica. In some cases it may have begun as an ethnic or regional byname for someone from Corsica or someone associated with Corsican identity. Because surnames can arise independently in different places, not every family named Corso necessarily shares one single origin.
History
The name is well established in Italy and is found especially in Italian and Italian-American contexts. It also appears as a place-name element and occasional surname in historical Italian records, which fits a geographic or identity-based origin. In English-language surname books, it is sometimes noticed alongside older forms like Corse or Course, but those are not necessarily the same surname lineage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because corso in Italian can evoke “Corsican,” the surname may originally have functioned much like a nickname for a person identified with Corsica.
From the historical record
“simple forms. Cort, Corse, Old German Corso, 8th cent. English Corse, Course, short. CuRTZE, Cort, Court, Curt. French Course, Coursy, Corta, Court, Courty, Courteau, Curty. diminutives.”
— The Teutonic Name-System applied to the family names of France, England and Germany