Family name origins & meanings
- Italian (mainly central–southern Italy) and Greek (Moutos) : nickname from muto ‘mute’, ‘unable to speak’.
- Japanese (Mutō) : ‘warrior wisteria’, meaning ‘Fujiwara of Musashi’ (Musashi no Fujiwara). These Mutō claim descent from Fujiwara no Hidesato (10th century), of the northern branch of the clan. Other bearers, descended from the Minamoto through the Takeda, sometimes pronounce the name Takefuji. All are found mainly in eastern Japan.