This is a European surname of two quite distinct possible origins. The first is from the Polish word 'mazur' meaning a person from the province of Masovia. Recorded in a number of spellings including Mazer, Mazur, Mazurowski, Mazurkiewicz, as well as other forms, it is locational and hence a 'from' name. That is to say a name which was usually given to a person after he or she left their original home to move somewhere else. Masovia is a district of lakes, and the name is believed to mean a place of water. The second possible origin is from the Italian surname Mazza. This name which is found in many spellings including Mazzetto, Mazzini, Mazzone, Mazono, Massone, Massono and which with its slightly different suffix forms such as -wicz and -ski (Polish), -fi (Hungarian), -ic (Croatian) is known throughout Eastern Europe and Russia. The derivation of the surname is to say the least, unusual. It is from the Latin word 'mazzare' meaning to kill, and as such it is possible that originally the name was either theatrical for an actor who habitually played the part of an assassin in the travelling theatres of those days, or as a nickname either for a destructive personality, or given the robust humour of the Medieval period, the complete reverse!

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