Southern Italian: from the medieval
personal name Zito,
originally a nickname from the southern Italian dialect word
zito, zite, zitu ‘boy’, ‘young bachelor’,
‘fiancé’.
This Italian surname of ZITO was
originally from the medieval given name ZITO, a nickname from the
southern Italy dialec, ZITU, meaning a young batchelor. The name is also
spelt ZITTEL, LOZITO, LOSITO, LOSETO, ZITELLO and ZITELLI. Surnames
having a derivation from nicknames form the broadest and most
miscellaneous class of surnames, encompassing many different types of
origin. The most typical classes refer adjectivally to the general
physical aspect of the person concerned, or to his character. Many
nicknames refer to a man's size or height, while others make reference
to a favoured article of clothing or style of dress. Many surnames
derived from the names of animals and birds. In the Middle Ages ideas
were held about the characters of other living creatures, based on
observation, and these associations were reflected and reinforced by
large bodies of folk tales featuring animals behaving as humans. A
notable member of the name mentions Karl Alfred von ZITTEL (1839-1904).
He was a geologist and palaeontologist, born in Bahlingen, Baden. A
distinguished authority on his subjects and their history, he taught at
Vienna, Karlsruhe and Munich, and was president of the Bavarian Academy.
As the agricultural depression of southern Italy worsened towards the
end of the 19th century, people began to escape to the New World. The
exodus started in earnest in 1887 with Brazil and other parts of Latin
America being the original destinations. By 1893, the economy had
improved in the United States and people headed there from Italy in
greater and greater numbers. In 1898 there were more Italian immigrants
to the USA than from any other country. In the post war era, more than a
quarter of Italians left the country for a new life. They joined a
flood of immigrants to America which was averaging a million a year in
the pre war years. The origins of Italian surnames are not clear, and
much work remains to be done on medieval Italian records. It seems that
fixed bynames, in some cases hereditary, were in use in the Venetian
Republic by the end of the 10th century. The typical Italian surname
endings are 'i' and 'o', the former being characteristic of northern
Italy. The singular form 'o' is more typical of southern Italy.
