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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Italian : from the title of rank marchése ‘marquis’ (in Italy the rank immediately below that of duke), probably applied as a nickname for someone who behaved like a marquis, or an occupational name for a servant in the household of a marquis. However, 13th- and 14th-century documents show that the term was also used as a personal name at that time.

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