Maffia

Borrowed from Italian Maffia.

Maffia (plural Maffias)

1. A surname from Italian.

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Maffia is the 41359^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 526 individuals. Maffia is most common among White (92.97%) individuals.

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Maffia”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 488.

• Rhymes: -æfiə

Maffia

1. Dated form of Mafia.

Maffia f (genitive Maffia, plural Maffias)

1. Formerly standard spelling of Mafia which was deprecated in 2011.

Interpreted as a crystallized variant (now just a surname) of the personal name Mattia, implying a unusual labiodental change starting from the voiceless dental fricative of Koine Greek Ματθίας (Matthías) ~ Μαθθίας (Maththías). Ultimately a borrowing from an Extreme Southern Italian dialect, as in Calabrian Maffìa. Any relation with the word màfia should be treated as folk etymology.

• IPA^(key): /mafˈfi.a/
• Rhymes: -ia
• Hyphenation: Maf‧fì‧a

Maffia m or f by sense

1. a surname originating as a patronymic

• Stefano Ravara, Mappa dei Cognomi, 2015–2025