Tedesco (or Todesco, or Todisco; plural "Tedeschi") is an Italian word for "German".
Etymologically, it derives from Theodiscus, sharing the same root of German "Deutsch".
Both Tedesco and Tedeschi are common surnames among Italians, both in Italy and in the diaspora.
The surname and its variants means someone from Germany.
Paul Johnson notes that the 'Natione Tedesca' described Jews of German origin, being among the three Jewish ethnic divisions resident in mid-16th-century Venice.