Masi Surname in Italy

The surname Masi, found throughout Italy with particular concentrations in Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, and Lazio, originates mainly from the shortening and aphesis of variants of the given name Tommaso (Thomas), often through affectionate diminutives associated with the veneration of Saint Thomas. This origin is shared by related surnames such as Masella, Maselli, Massella, and Masselli, each linked to specific geographic clusters ranging from Lazio and Campania to Puglia and Veneto. The surname Maso, chiefly of Venetian origin, may also derive from a local place name or from the Venetian term 'maso,' meaning a mountain farmhouse. In Southern Italy—especially Calabria, Sicily, and Puglia—Masi can also be an Italian adaptation of an Arbëreshë surname connected to the Mas Mat family, traced back to the migration of the Reres brothers in the late 15th century. In some cases in the South, Masi may have generated the surname Masci, which is also found in central and northern Italy but likely has an indigenous origin. This complexity illustrates that many southern surnames attributed to Albanian origins could in fact have deep-rooted Italian origins.