Turco Family History

Italian: ethnic name for a Turk, Italian Turco, or a nickname from the same word in the sense of a non-Christian or, following the medieval ethnic stereotype, a cruel, ferocious, or short-tempered person. See also Turk. This name may also be of Greek origin, from Tourko-, Tourkos ‘Turk’. It is often found combined with a personal name to form a Greek surname, for example Tourkantonis ‘Turkish Anthony’ (i.e. ‘Anthony the Muslim’, ‘Anthony originally from Ottoman Turkey rather than the Greek state’, or ‘Anthony the irascible’), Tourkogeorgis ‘Turkish George’, Tourkomanolis ‘Turkish Emmanuel’, etc.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press