With The Bear becoming increasingly popular following the season 2 release, some fans still look for the meaning of the word “Berzatto” they hear in the series streaming on Hulu. What does Berzatto mean? Considering the origin of the protagonists, does Berzatto mean something in particular in Italian? Here’s what you should know.
What does “Berzatto” mean in The Bear?
Berzatto is the surname of Carmy.
Created by Christopher Storer, The Bear tells the story of how a young chef’s life changes after the suicide of his brother. After the tragic event, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) returns to Chicago to run the Italian beef shop left by his dead brother, Michael. Carmy, Michael, and Natalie’s (their sister) last name is Berzatto, pronounced “bear-zaa-tow.”
In the series, both Michael and Carmy are affectionately called “bear” by their friends. To homage to his late brother, Carmy opted to close the old family restaurant, The Beef, and open a new one called The Bear. The story also hinted Carmy and Michael wanted to open a restaurant and name it like that when they were younger. As for Natalie, she’s known as “Sugar,” which is not short for “sugar bear,” but because she used to put sugar instead of salt in the family gravy. The bear is also deeply connected to Chicago, home of the Chicago Bears.
Does Berzatto mean something in Italian?
The word “berzatto” has no meaning in Italian.
To say it all, “Berzatto” isn’t a widespread family name in Italy, unlike “Bearzatto,” which is way more widely used than the first. As much as fans would love to find a hidden reference in the word, it seems writers picked that peculiar family name just because of how it sounds.
For more The Bear-related content, check out how old is Carmen Berzatto. Also, here’s what shirt Carmy wears in the popular series.
