Where the Caruso surname comes from
Caruso comes from the Sicilian word carusu: the boy, the apprentice. In Sicily, children from about six to fourteen were called exactly that, carusi.
So the first Caruso was a boy, a man who stayed “the caruso” of the house for everyone, or an apprentice in a workshop or on a farm. Where the word itself comes from is still debated: the theories are in the PDF.
The boys of the sulfur mines
In the 1800s the word carusi took on a harsher meaning. It named the boys who worked in Sicily’s sulfur mines, bound to the mine by a strange contract. The surname is much older than the sulfur mines, but their story is part of the word. It is told in the PDF, along with the story of the tenor Enrico Caruso and of the song that bears his name.
Where the Carusos live today
Caruso is a surname of the South with Sicilian roots. There are about 15,300 families in Italy, concentrated in Sicily, Campania and Calabria. On the island it is the third most common surname, in the province of Syracuse it is the first, and the town where it is strongest is Avola. It reached the North and Rome with 20th-century emigration. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world the Carusos reached are in the PDF.
Variants
The same word gave different forms, from the plurals of central Italy to diminutives and augmentatives. The PDF explains where each one comes from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Caruso | Sicily, Campania, Calabria |
| Carusi | Abruzzo, Tuscany, Lazio |
| Carusone | Campania |
| Carusotto | Sicily |
FAQ
What does the Caruso surname mean?
It comes from the Sicilian carusu, “boy, apprentice.” It named a boy, a man who stayed “the caruso” of the house, or an apprentice who worked in a workshop or in the fields.
Is Caruso a Sicilian or a Neapolitan surname?
It has Sicilian roots: it is the third most common surname on the island and the first in the province of Syracuse. It is also very common in Campania and Calabria, because a word like “boy” could become a surname in any town.
Are Caruso and Carusi the same surname?
They come from the same word. Carusi is the central Italian form, strong in Abruzzo, Tuscany and Lazio. Until the 1800s the surname was written by whoever kept the register: if you’re looking for your ancestors, try every form.
Are all Carusos related?
No. A surname that means “boy” was born in a thousand different towns, among families with no ties to each other. To trace your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Caruso surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t indicate nobility. It was born among ordinary people: farmers, apprentices, miners, craftsmen. In Sicily there was a family of Caruso barons, but that was one specific branch.
Is there a Caruso family coat of arms?
There was the coat of arms of one specific family, the Caruso barons of Spaccaforno, with a play on the surname. It was theirs, not that of all the Carusos. There is no coat of arms for the whole surname.
Was Enrico Caruso Sicilian?
No, the tenor was Neapolitan. He was born in Naples in 1873 to parents from Piedimonte d’Alife, in a working-class family.
