Spano Family History

Italian (Sardinia): nickname from Sardinian spanu (from Latin spanus) ‘chestnut light gray’ a term primarily used with reference to horses, cattle, and goats but also to describe the color of human hair and beards.

Italian (Sardinia): descriptive nickname from spanu ‘having thinning hair’ from medieval Greek spanos from classical Greek spanios ‘scarce’ (see Spanos).

Slovak (mainly Špaňo also Špano): from a Slavicized derivative of Hungarian ispán (itself a derivative of Slavic župan; see Zupan) in old Hungary a title denoting the highest royal official standing at the head of the manor.