Save Type Surname (from occupation) Usage Italian Pronounced Pron. /mus.so.ˈli.ni/(Italian) /ˌmʊ.sə.ˈliː.ni/(English) [key·simplify] Meaning & History From Italian mussolina meaning "muslin", a type of cloth, itself derived from the city of Mosul in Iraq. This name was borne by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945). Categories cities, clothing, dictators, fabric, history, tyrants, WW2