I know a lot of Greco’s, and since many of us have at least a little Greek DNA, it makes sense that it’s in the top 10. My favorite Greco was Mr. Greco that lived around the block from me. He had a pie delivery business and would always leave his truck unlocked with a couple of pies in it for the kids to appropriate over night in the summertime!
From Wikipedia
Greco(Italian pronunciation: [ˈɡrɛːko]) is a common Italiansurname, ranking 9th among the most widespread surnames in Italy,[1]and it literally means “Greek“. Historically, its popularity is due to the frequent relationships between Italyand Greece: in particular, it spread within the Grikocommunities of Southern Italyand the Arbëreshëminority emigrated from the Balkanssince the 15th century.
Variants of the surname include Del Greco, Della Greca, Greci, Grego, Grieco, La Greca, Lagreca, Lo Greco, Logreco, Logrieco, Grech, Grecco, etc.
Scroll down for links to the top 8.
A variety of distinguished and notable names have emerged from the beautiful and historical Italian region of Tuscany, including the notable surname Greco. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany, who were originally known only by a single name, found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. This process of adopting fixed hereditary surnamesin Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries, but it was not completed until the modern era. The development of Italian hereditary surnames followed general principles and were characterized by derivatives from one’s given name. The patronymicsurname, which is derived from the father’s given name, was one of the most common name types found in the region of Tuscany. This system of name-making was widely used because it linked well with the existing FeudalSystem and during the Christian era, many people named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Greco came from the Italian personal nameGreca, which is derived from the Latin word graecus, which means greek. Alternatively, the surname is of a nicknameorigin that was given to one who came from Greece. At present, the name can be found all over the Italian peninsula, but it is most prevalent in the region of Campania.
The surname Greco was first found in Florence (Italian: Firenze), where the main branch of the family originates. Records are found in 1258 with Alberto dei Greci, who left the Ghibeline faction in Florence and moved to Bologna, where he became mayor.
As of 2014, 62.6% of all known bearers of the surname Greco were residents of Italy(frequency 1:715), 17.7% of the United States(1:14,906), 6.1% of Argentina(1:5,090), 4.2% of Brazil(1:35,328), 2.4% of Canada(1:11,050) and 2.0% of France(1:24,844).
In Italy, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:715) in the following regions:
In Argentina, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:5,090) in the following provinces:[2]
But I know my grandparents came from Italy, how come I’m not 100% on my Italian DNA test? I know where I came from, why should I take a DNA test. Ahh, there just made up anyway, somebody I know took the test and it said they where only 10% Italian, how can that be? All valid questions. One thing we have to remember is that Italy was not united until the mid 19th Century.
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