Onomastics, Semantics, Sociolinguistics and Anthroponymy,
On island Rab first written records of this surname can be followed to the 18 ct. - birth / marriage records in the parishes Mundanije & Kampor, where are found as Mascarin and its derivation Mascarinich. As most families on the island Rab can be traced usually for 5-6 centuries, Mascarini on Rab are recorded quite late (18 ct.).
Comparing with the closest possible sources, we can assume this surname to be of italian origin in local dialect of the area ( chakavski). In Italy are found similar surnames: Mascarini, Mascaroni, Mascheroni. They are not common or widely spread; Mascarini are to be found near Lecco and in Bergamo, Mascaroni presumably the misspelling in records are as variation found in Milan in year 1700., while the variation Mascheroni are grouped around east Lombardy. All these surnames are the derivations from the medieval surnames, the word could have roots in word mascherone ( scar face) or maschera ( mask). . There are records of Antonio de Mascheronibus fu Bono, di Olmo from the year 1070, then Filippo Mascarus di Bonomo in 734 and Pasino de Mascaris in 735. The most famous personality is of course Lorenzo Mascheroni from 1700 who entered the priesthood at the age of 17. and in 1786 became professor of algebra and geometry at the University of Pavia, he calculated the integral, Euler's constant to 32 decimal places.
Dante Alighieri in the Song 32° of Hell cites some Sassuolo Mascheroni, who was according to the history records a real person, originating in Firenza. He had a rich uncle who had a young son the only heir, so he lured the young man outside the town and killed it. When the crime was discovered, as a punishment he was put into a barrel with spikes and rolled around the town to have finally the head cut off.
The name is also found in France, where it came from Italy. French variations are Mascarenc, Mascareng but at the end of 17 ct. there is a mention of some Marquis de Mascarini who had his castle in rue des Gobelins. Interestingly enough, some time later ( 18ct.) a ship named Mascarin under the command of captain Marion du Fresne explored the Tasman sea and New Zealand waters, where du Fresne named the mountain peaks he first saw 'Le Pic Mascarin' unaware that Captain James Cook had already given it the name of Mount Egmont.. On island Reunion in french Polynesia there is a Botanical garden named Mascarin, while on Galapagos archipelago there are small islands Mascarena (attributed to Ibáñez 1690) and Mascarenas ( attributed to Sayer 1775) and Mascarin ( att.. to Villeforte ca. 1700) that are better known as San Cristóbal. It is most likely that in Polynesia the word is a derivate from creole. In 19 ct. detective novels ( The Champdoce Mystery by Emile Gaboriau) Mascarin is the name of one of the characters ( vilan)..
Word Mask is
an international word so we have - franc. masque (mask), on Balkans it
is of turkish root (masquara): romanian mascara, bulgarian and albanian
maskara, neo-greek maskaras... The word root is arab - mashara, although
the word is present in indo-european pool; we can find it in Buddhism (
Suttas 296-393) and Jainism almost unchanged, where is mentioned the philosopher
Maskarin Gosaliputra // followers Ajivika.
Sanskirt:
Maskarin Gosala or Gosalikaputra) "Maskarin" is explained as "a mendicant
carrying single staff of bamboo (maskara)". According to Patañjali
(Mahábhásya iii.96), the name indicates a School of Wanderers
who were called Maskarins, not so much because they carried a bamboo staff
as because they denied the freedom of the will ( determinists).
Today the surname - MASCARIN, MAŠKARIN, MASCARIN, MASCHERIN, MASCHARINI and the variations like MASCARELL, MASCARELLI, MASCHERELLI, MASCARELLO, MASCAREN, MASCARENAS, MASCARENE, MASCARENHAS, MASCARENO, MASCARI, MASCARICH can be found in Croatia ( only Kvarner and islands) , Italy, France, Spain, Russia, Czech Rep., Argentina, Brazil, America and Canada. Though on many locations, the surname is rare.
If you have
any interesting story regarding the word connotations, surname or some
legend regarding someone of those surnames other than here stated please
me write and I'll be happy to add on and exchange links. Kristina
Maskarin 2004
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