Name Buttafuoco
Type Surname (from occupation & from nickname)
Usage Italian
Other Forms FormsButtafoco, Buttafochi
Edit Status Status
Meaning & History
Means "linstock (staff for lighting a cannon)" in Italian, composed of butta "to throw, toss" and fuoco "fire", perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a gunner, or a figurative nickname for someone with a hot temper. Alternatively, it could derive from the name of a stringed percussion instrument popular in medieval Italy.