Submitted Surname Revision History

Recorded in many spelling forms including the 'base' form of Maggi, and the diminutives and double diminutives Maggiore, Maggiori, Di Maggio, Maggorini, and many others, this is an Italian surname of Roman (Latin) origins.

It derives from the ancient word 'maggiore' which means 'the eldest son', and as such was originally either a baptismal name, or in medieval times a nickname which became a surname. In usage it was not so different from the much later English Victorian method of calling brothers by their surname, but then distinguishing them by the terms major, minor, or for a third son, minimus.