da Guido5 » venerdì 9 febbraio 2007, 20:19
Welcome in our “forum”, dear Ivan! In my opinion Italian surnames Maiorana (exactly 1.000 occurrences in phone books, the largest part in Sicily, provinces of Messina and Trapani) and Majorana (only 94) come from a nickname related to the [sweet] marjoram (in Italian “maggiorana”) in Sicily considered like an amulet. The surname can be found in 1200 in Erice (province of Trapani) with the notary Giovanni (Ivan!) Maiorana. Mayorana doesn’t exist in phone books and, if any, it’s a misspelling.
Always in my opinion Mazuranic could have a link with Mazurs (Polish: Mazurzy), a sub-ethnic group in the Masovian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships in Poland. Mazurs from Masovia are known as Masovians (Polish: Mazowszanie), while Mazurs from the Masuria region of former East Prussia are known as Masurians (German: Masuren). The name of the sub-ethnic group is derived from the Lekhitic tribe of Masovians who gave their name to the land of Masovia (Mazowsze). About the ending -anic you know much more than I can say.
Ciao to everybody!
Guido5