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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Italian : from the plural of cugino ‘cousin’ (Latin consobrinus), which in the Middle Ages had the general meaning ‘relative’, ‘kinsman’. The surname would thus have denoted a person related in some way to a prominent figure in the neighborhood. In some cases it may have been a nickname for someone who used the word frequently as a familiar term of address.

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