Explore the Family Name Grosso

The meaning of Grosso

Italian: nickname for a large or corpulent man, from Italian grosso ‘big, large’, also ‘fat’ (from Late Latin grossus). Some characteristic forenames: Italian Rocco, Angelo, Salvatore, Vito, Antonio, Dante, Domenic, Pasquale, Santo, Amato, Battista, Carlo.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Grosso in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Grosso saw a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname fell from 7,517th in 2000 to 8,148th in 2010, marking an 8.39% drop. The actual count of people with the Grosso surname decreased marginally, from 4,083 in 2000 to 4,069 in 2010. This decrease corresponds to a reduction in the proportion per 100,000 individuals, which went down by 8.61%, from 1.51 to 1.38.

20002010Change
Rank#7,517#8,148-8.39%
Count4,0834,069-0.34%
Proportion per 100k1.511.38-8.61%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Grosso

The ethnicity distribution for the surname Grosso also experienced changes from 2000 to 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. Notably, there were small increases in the percentages of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Hispanic, and Black. Specifically, the Hispanic population increased from 5.17% to 6.81%, a change of 31.72%. Likewise, the percentage of people identifying as Two or more races rose from 0.61% to 0.81%. Despite these increases, the majority of those with the Grosso surname identified as White, although this percentage decreased slightly from 93.56% in 2000 to 91.47% in 2010.

20002010Change
White93.56%91.47%-2.23%
Hispanic5.17%6.81%31.72%
Two or More Races0.61%0.81%32.79%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0.44%0%
Black0.32%0.34%6.25%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0.12%0%

Grosso ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Grosso is Italian, which comprises 33.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (25.1%) and French & German (14.4%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Italian33.9%
British & Irish25.1%
French & German14.4%
Other26.6%
Grosso

Possible origins of the surname Grosso

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Grosso have recent ancestry locations spanning a few countries, mostly in Italy, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Sicily, Italy55.60%
Campania, Italy53.80%
Calabria, Italy52.10%
West Midlands, United Kingdom49.60%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom49.60%

What Grosso haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Grosso is J-M304, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup J-M304 is descended from haplogroup J-M304. Other common haplogroups include R-M417 and E-M34, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Rego, Sperling, Symons, Glazer, Michaelis, Jacobsen, Keen, Hermann, Faber, Doe.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Grosso surname are: H1, N, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

grossoPaternal Haplogroup Origins J-M304
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to some of the first farmers

It was in the heart of the Middle East, soon after the Ice Age drew to a close 12,500 years ago, that humans first learned to domesticate cereals and livestock and completely transformed their way of life. They began to live more sedentary lives in closer proximity to one another. With greater resources, cultures in the Fertile Crescent made technological advances more rapidly than ever before. Farming was such a successful strategy that populations boomed, sparking waves of migration into Europe about 8,000 years ago. Men bearing haplogroup J were among the drivers of this innovation, and were also among the first waves to spread the new technology across the continents.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Grosso have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Grosso

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Grosso" Surname 45.7%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Grosso

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Grosso" Surname 33.3%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Grosso

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Grosso" Surname 18.8%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Grosso

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Grosso" Surname 16.9%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Grosso?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Grosso are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Italian 58.3%

23andMe Users 57.2%