Frequency: (1446)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Italian: topographic name for someone living or working in a wood, from Late Latin boscus ‘shrub’, ‘undergrowth’ (of Gallic or Germanic origin), or a habitational name from a place named with this word. De Felice suggests that in some cases it may have been an occupational name for a woodsman or forester and, by extension, a nickname for a surly or rough person.
GIVEN NAMES: Italian 15%. Angelo (10), Salvatore (10), Carmine (4), Sal (4), Ignazio (3), Antonio (2), Attilio (2), Cosimo (2), Francesco (2), Gaspare (2), Luigi (2), Saverio (2).
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
