Noted in the Status Animarum (diocesan census) of 1687, there is evidence of this surname being on this island in the mid-sixteenth century. Of Italian origin which and common in Sicily and Calbria, at face value, refers to someone from the city of Genoa. However, since the Genoese were regarded as clever and bright individuals in the Middle Ages, this surname may derive from a nickname given to someone particularly astute and canny. Mullets of six points are the French equivalent of the five-pointed star (mullet) and represent merit and honour. The cross signifies purity, sacrifice, sacredness and victory.