Talk:Russo (surname)

False etymology
This paragraph has no etymological bases:

Russo is a Sicilian name from the Viking tribe Rus, pronounced Roos, who were in Sicily from 800-1100AD. The Byzantines and the Arabs in the Mediterranean and Sicily at that time referred to all Norsemen as Rus. The word sounded like the Latin word for red and therein lies the confusion. The Count of Aidone given land and title to help fight the Arabs in Sicily around 1100 AD added to the confusion because he sometimes Latinized his name to Rosso but he also spelled it Russu. The Greek name Roussos is from the same root. In the Nordic languages it means "He Rows" or "The men who row". This same tribe became the lords of the land that now bears their name Russia.

--Carnby (talk) 13:44, 26 December 2014 (UTC)


 * Agree. In Italy this surname's meaning is plain: a variant of rosso (red) with typical Southern Italian metaphony. No relation to Russia :-) Compare --Actormusicus (talk) 16:39, 13 June 2021 (UTC)

Your fabricated understanding removes the factual etymology and replaces it with racist interpretative gymnastics. In no Italian dialect does Russo mean RED, it means RUS. Crrusso (talk) 20:21, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Stop saying BS: in southern Italian dialects Russo and similar forms mean "red". There's nothing "racist" in it.--Carnby (talk) 20:38, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

Disputed, May 2019
the page about the surname Russo is misleading and full of unnecessary and false informations. Russo is a common italian last name, simply derived from a nickname used to designate people with reddish hair and it does not indicate nobility. Please accept by contributions, I just translated the italian page.

I believe this is the most accurate version. thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nomenomenom (talk • contribs) 20:20, 9 May 2019 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is not written just based on what you believe; see WP:NOR. It is written based on information that is verifable. If you wish to add information, you need to find citations from WP:RS to support it. You may not remove citations just because you disagree with them. – Fayenatic  L ondon 20:50, 9 May 2019 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
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 * C rossi2.jpg

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
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 * Common Names.jpg

Russo
This bastardization of the name Russo is a racist form of erasure of a people that were not redheads but had actual origins as Vikings. This is a terrible and inaccurate definition of a people with a prominent, influential history who are now being erased with this revised and false content. It’s also racist as the Northern Italians sought to misrepresent and negate Sicilians. Limamikenovember (talk) 18:19, 8 February 2020 (UTC)

March, 2020
The evidence provided by Vaselineeeeeeee and Justlettersandnumbers is insufficient as it stands to state that the word, "Russo," means, "red". The very reference cited for this evidence states that Russo may "possibly" mean "red," but moreover, that reference is pure conjecture. The actual definition of "russo," as stated in every dictionary, is the Italian word for, "Russian" (Zanichelli Super Mini Italian and English Dictionary,1993, 231p. American Heritage, 4th Edition, 2001, 731p.) No one is disputing whether or not rosso means red, but rosso and russo are distinctively different words. Every entry preceding this one current makes unsubstantiated claims that the etymology of the term russo arose from a southern-dialect bastardization of the term, rosso. Further, no historical context or chronology is presented in those references. Nonetheless, no Southern Italian dialect refers to the color red as russo. The history of the Viking people coming into Sicily in the 800s, settling in Northern France in the 1100s and then returning as Normans to rule Sicily in the 1500s provides context to the emergence of the word as a surname in the region where it is most frequently found. --Crrusso (talk) 04:45, 27 March 2020 (UTC)Crrusso
 * So, has again restored the same content that has been repeatedly removed here. Is there any solid reason not to remove it yet again? I'm not seeing any.  thoughts, comment? Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 18:42, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

Yes, I removed the content that claims a dubious definition of the word, one that no other dictionary provides. The word is itself Scandinavian. The reference is to the Vikings who settled the northern Russian Principalities. The Latinized form of the word was absorbed from both the Greeks and Arabs who used it to describe Viking Norseman during the Byzantine era in Italy. Notably, Roussos in Greek also means, "a Russian".
 * Southern Italian surname Russo means "red haired" or "red bearded". It is the southern counterpart of Central-Northern Rossi. Period. No realiable source in Italian linguistic textbooks says it means "Russian". Besides, Italian surnames indicating a nationality are relatively rare (e.g. Tedeschi, Spagnoli) and usually limited to neighbouring countries.--Carnby (talk) 10:32, 29 March 2020 (UTC)
 * I have no stance on this, I only reverted beacaue the user was told to stop and to talk it out on the talk page and had not yet done so.  LakesideMiners Come Talk To Me! 11:32, 29 March 2020 (UTC)

No, Russo and Rossi are not counterparts; the roots of each of these words are different, and unrelated. This claim that the words are the same is patently false. Rus is a Scandinavian word that entered the lexicon from the Byzantines, it’s not Latin. Crrusso (talk) 21:03, 11 May 2020 (UTC)


 * Hoax. Russo just means red haired --Actormusicus (talk) 16:41, 13 June 2021 (UTC)

False etymology
@carnby is fabricating a tale to suppress actual, factual information. The current entry has no basis in fact, and then continuous editing battle that has ensued is because of @carnby's continuous vandalism to the site. Crrusso (talk) 19:56, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Er, no,, the fabricated version is the stuff that has just removed – the same baseless WP:OR that you have repeatedly added in the last five (or more) years. Please DO NOT add that stuff, with or without its crap references, back to the page, without first establishing firm consensus for doing so. You are of course welcome to attempt to convince other editors by discussion here on this page, the talk-page – good luck with that! Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 20:16, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
 * I asked for protection of this page.--Carnby (talk) 20:39, 15 June 2021 (UTC)