Mazza Surname: Origin and Coat of Arms
What does Mazza mean, and where does it come from? Here is a brief introduction.
Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Mazza coat of arms for you.
Origin of the Mazza name
Mazza comes from the Italian word mazza, "club, mace, mallet", from Latin mattea. It could be an occupational name for someone who used a mallet or carried a mace as an official, or a nickname for a stout, forceful man. The surname is found across Italy, especially Lombardy, Campania and Calabria.
The club and the mace
Mazza is Italian for a club, mallet or mace. As a surname it most likely began as a nickname for a strong, heavy-handed man, or as an occupational name for someone who used a mallet, such as a stonemason, or who carried a mace as a town official.
Forebears estimates about 38,000 bearers in Italy (ranked 79th), spread across north and south, and 11,000 in the United States; the 2010 Census counted 8,043. Argentina has around 5,900. Two Bolognese artists, the sculptor Giuseppe Maria Mazza (1653–1741) and the painter Giuseppe Mazza (1817–1884), are among the historic bearers.
Our historical archives hold much more on the Mazza name: dates, names and records of early bearers.
This overview covers the Mazza name in Italy. We also hold records of the name in other countries, such as Argentina, Brazil and the United States; your full pack is researched for your family's country of origin.
Get your full Mazza family history
Behind every surname is a first record. The full report goes back to where the Mazza name first appears and follows how the family spread, era by era.
Your full Mazza pack adds the researched history, early records and migration. Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Mazza coat of arms for you.
Mazza name FAQ
What does the Mazza name mean?
Club, mace. Common variants include Mazzi, Mazzola, Mazzoni.
Where does the Mazza surname come from?
It originates in Italy, and is also found in Argentina, Brazil and the United States.
Is there a Mazza coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals, not whole surnames, so there is no single Mazza crest. Herald Lab paints a personalized Mazza coat of arms based on historic heraldry.
What does Mazza mean?
A club, mallet or mace in Italian.
Is Mazza a northern or southern Italian name?
It is found in both, with clusters in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and the south.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: De Felice, Dizionario dei cognomi italiani; Caffarelli & Marcato, I cognomi d'Italia. Facts and figures: Forebears surname distribution (estimates); US Census Bureau, 2010 surname file; Wikipedia, "Mazza (surname)". Forebears figures are modelled estimates, rounded.