Family name origins & meanings
- Italian : from the personal name Cesare, from the famous Roman family name Caesar. This was associated by folk etymology in classical times with Latin caesaries ‘head of hair’, but is probably of Etruscan origin, perhaps ultimately a cognate of Charles. After the spectacular success of Julius Caesar the name was adopted by his imperial successors, and eventually came to be taken as a generic title. As such it has been adopted into most European languages (see Kaiser).