Surname Macaluso and variations

The surname is typically Sicilian and has a number of main possible etymologies.

From a nickname linked to the Sicilian word Macaluggiu Malauggiu, Macalusciu, a term used to indicate a cotton cloth cleaned and hulled of the seed. The nickname might have been used for a job in the textile field, or a reference to a whitish complexion, but nothing is sure about why it became a surname.
From the Arabic term mahlus that indicated a freedman, a slave to whom freedom had been restored.
From the Hebrew language: a female name Macalat was recorded in the Bible (Genesis 28, 9,); a musical notation in Psalms 53 and 88, whose root meant harp; a mention in a document of one Iuda Machalusus iudeus in Mazara, 1303.

Italian White Pages: in 2020 there are 700 listings of individuals, of them 460 in Sicily.
Ellis Island: 1840 arrivals for Macaluso immigrants are recorded, coming mostly from Sicily.

The surname has no listings in the Italian white pages of 2020. There are 21 arrivals on Ellis Island.

The surname has no listings in the Italian white pages of 2020. There are 6 arrivals on Ellis Island.

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