Frequency: (231)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Southern Italian: according to Caracausi, perhaps from malanga ‘tannia’, a tall Caribbean plant of the arum family, with edible pear-shaped tubers, but how this could have translated into a European family name is difficult to envisage.
GIVEN NAMES: Italian 16%. Alfonso (2), Armando (2), Orlando (2), Americo, Angelo, Carmine, Guido, Nicola, Rocco, Vincenzo.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
