Terzi Surname in Italy

The surname Terzi is chiefly rooted in the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions, with notable occurrences in Piedmont as well. The rare variant Terzini may originate separately within the L'Aquila area and the Siena region. Terzo is predominantly found in Sicily, with branches in Naples and Vicenza; Terzoni, also uncommon, appears mainly in Piacenza and Macerata. These surnames often derive from the Latin cognomen Tertius, meaning "third" as a birth order designation, or from place names such as Borgo di Terzo in Bergamo province. Historical records document surnames stemming from Tertius as early as the 1500s in the Lower Seriana Valley, while eighteenth-century evidence in Borgo di Terzo points to prominent local families bearing this name.