Grasso is a Southern Italian surname derived from the Italian adjective grasso (fat, stout, plump), itself from the Latin crassus. Descriptive nicknames referring to physical characteristics were one of the oldest and most widespread sources of Italian surnames, and Grasso — applied originally to an ancestor who was notably stout or heavyset — became a permanent hereditary surname. The name is most densely concentrated in Sicily and Calabria, with a significant presence throughout the Italian south. It emigrated widely to the United States, particularly to the Sicilian-American communities of New York and New England.
SicilyCalabriaSouthern Italy
History and Origins
Physical descriptive surnames are among the oldest strata of Italian naming. Before hereditary surnames were formalised, individuals were identified in community records by nicknames describing their appearance, occupation, or character. Grasso — applied to someone notably corpulent or heavyset — appears in Sicilian and Calabrian records from at least the thirteenth century, making it one of the earlier documented Italian descriptive surnames. The Latin root crassus (thick, fat) had already produced the word grasso in the Romance vernacular by the high medieval period, and its use as a surname indicator was widespread throughout the Italian peninsula.
The Sicilian Concentration
Grasso is particularly dense in Sicily, especially in the western and central provinces (Palermo, Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Trapani). The Norman and Aragonese kingdoms of Sicily, which governed the island from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries, produced extensive documentation in which Grasso families appear as farmers, tradespeople, and minor landholders. The Sicilian branch of the family emigrated heavily to the United States from 1880 onward, forming the backbone of the large Sicilian-American communities in New York City, New Haven, and Boston.
Calabrian Roots
The Calabrian branch of the Grasso family is concentrated primarily in the province of Reggio Calabria and Catanzaro. Calabria, the toe of the Italian boot, shares much of its cultural and naming history with Sicily — both were part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, both have strong Greek and Byzantine heritage, and both experienced large-scale emigration to the Americas from the late nineteenth century. The Grasso surname in Calabria follows the same pattern as in Sicily: a descriptive medieval nickname that became a hereditary family name.
The Grasso Surname Beyond the South
While most densely concentrated in Sicily and Calabria, the Grasso surname also appears in Liguria and Piedmont in the north, where it may have arisen independently from the same Latin root. The Ligurian branch of the Grasso family has a separate genealogical history from the Sicilian branch, and researchers should be careful not to conflate the two. In the north, the name appears in medieval commune records from Genoa and surrounding areas, reflecting the Ligurian merchant and maritime tradition.
The Italian Diaspora
Grasso families from Sicily and Calabria emigrated to the United States in large numbers between 1880 and 1930, concentrating in New York City (particularly Brooklyn and Manhattan's Little Italy), New Haven, Boston, and the industrial cities of New England. The name also spread to Argentina and Brazil, where Italian communities in Buenos Aires and São Paulo include Grasso families of Sicilian and Calabrian origin. Australia received smaller numbers of Grasso emigrants, particularly in the post-World War II period.
The Grasso name achieved national prominence in the United States through Ella Grasso (1919–1981), who served as Governor of Connecticut from 1975 to 1980 — the first woman in American history to be elected governor in her own right (not succeeding a husband). Her parents were Italian immigrants from Lombardy, reflecting a northern Italian variant of the Grasso surname. Her election was a landmark moment for both Italian-Americans and women in American political history.
How to Research Grasso Ancestry
Grasso research should focus on the western and central provinces of Sicily (Palermo, Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Trapani) and the Calabrian provinces of Reggio Calabria and Catanzaro. Italian civil registration records begin in 1866. The State Archives of Palermo and Reggio Calabria hold earlier records from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. For American emigrants, Ellis Island records (1892–1957) are essential. New York, New Haven, and Boston parish records hold large Grasso populations. Note that the Connecticut Grasso family (Ella Grasso) was of northern Italian — specifically Lombard — origin, genealogically distinct from the Sicilian Grasso families.
Notable Grasso Families
- Ella Grasso (1919–1981) — Governor of Connecticut 1975–1980. The first woman elected governor of a US state in her own right. Daughter of Giacomo Grasso, an immigrant from Lombardy, northern Italy. A landmark figure in American political history.
- Gaetano Grasso (fl. 1870–1920) — Representative figure of the Sicilian Grasso emigrant community. Like thousands of Sicilian Grassos, he emigrated through Palermo to New York, settling in the Italian-American communities of Brooklyn in the 1890s.
- Giovanni Grasso (1873–1930) — Sicilian actor and theatre director. One of the major figures of early Italian theatrical tradition in Sicily, known for his powerful style of dramatic performance and his revival of Sicilian dialect theatre.
- Aldo Grasso (born 1945) — Italian television critic and media historian. Professor at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, and Italy's most prominent television critic for the Corriere della Sera.
Related Italian Surnames
Often found in the same regions and emigration records: