Where the Di Mauro surname comes from
Di Mauro means “son of Mauro.” The Di pointed to the father, as in Di Martino or Di Stefano. Mauro comes from the Latin Maurus, the name of the Mauri of North Africa. Later the word came to mean someone with dark skin or hair, like the Italian moro, “dark.”
The name spread thanks to the saints who bore it. One generation after another, that “di Mauro” stopped pointing to the father and passed to the whole family.
Five generations in bronze
In Amalfi, in the Middle Ages, the name Mauro passed from father to son among the richest families of the maritime republic. An old inscription repeats it like links in a chain, and it’s tied to one of the city’s treasures, which came from Constantinople. The PDF shows what it says, and why it explains how your surname was born.
Where the Di Mauros live today
There are about 3,100 Di Mauro families in Italy. The heart of the surname is eastern Sicily, followed by Campania and Lazio. The town where it’s strongest is on Mount Etna: Aci Bonaccorsi, in the province of Catania, where it’s the third most common surname. Outside Italy the largest community is in the United States. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached are in the PDF.
Variants
The same “son of Mauro” appears with Di, with De, as one word or without a preposition. The PDF explains where each one comes from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Di Mauro | Sicily, Campania, Lazio |
| Mauro | Sicily, Lombardy, Campania |
| Dimauro | Apulia, Sicily, Lombardy |
| De Mauro | Apulia, Campania, Tuscany |
FAQ
What does the surname Di Mauro mean?
“Son of Mauro.” It marked the children of a man named Mauro, a name that comes from the Latin Maurus, “the Moor, the dark one.”
Is Di Mauro a Sicilian surname?
Yes, above all from eastern Sicily, where the largest group lives. It’s also strong in Campania and Lazio, and found in Apulia and Lombardy.
Are Di Mauro, Dimauro and De Mauro the same surname?
They share the same origin, the name Mauro. Until the 1800s the surname was written by whoever kept the register. So the same family can appear as two words or one, with Di or with De.
Why is it spelled DiMauro in America?
In the United States, Italian surnames starting with Di are almost always written as one word, like DiMaggio or DiCaprio. If you’re looking for a branch that emigrated, try every spelling in the archives.
Are all Di Mauros related?
No. The name Mauro was common across the South, and every “son of Mauro” could start a different family. To trace your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Di Mauro surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t indicate nobility, because it comes from a father’s name. The few noble families with this name, like the Amalfi merchants of the Middle Ages, were specific branches.
Is there a Di Mauro family coat of arms?
No single coat of arms belongs to every Di Mauro. Coats of arms belonged to specific families, and almost all Di Mauro families never had one.
