Mancini
An Italian surname that began as a family name and is most likely tied to a nickname or an old personal name shape related to left-handedness.
The #3,175 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,126 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mancini is the plural family-name form of the Italian mancin(o), meaning “left-handed” or “awkward on the left side.” The root goes back to Latin mancus, a word associated with being maimed, defective, or lacking use of a hand. In surname use, it could begin as a nickname for a left-handed person or as a family label built from that nickname.
History
The name is long established in Italy and became especially visible through noble and notable families in early modern history. It spread more widely through Italian migration, so today it is found well beyond Italy, including in the Americas and other diaspora communities. The surname also appears in aristocratic and historical records, which helped make it familiar outside Italy.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is plural in form, which is common in Italian family names and often points to an original family group rather than a single individual.
From the historical record
“honourable old plebeian gens, and has been continued in Italy, both in the masculine Ortensio, and feminine Ortensia, whence the French obtained their Hortense, probably from Ortensia Mancini, the niece of Mazarin. The Horatian gens was a very old and noble one, memorable for the battle of the Horatii, in the…”
— History of Christian NamesNotable people named Mancini
- Roberto Mancini (b. 1964)
- Henry Mancini (1924–1994)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.