The “Five Families” got their names as labels from the media and law enforcement, not because the groups officially chose those names themselves. The term was first coined in 1963 during coverage of the Valachi hearings, and the names were taken from the surnames of the bosses tied to each family at the time.

How the names formed

The original five groups in New York were associated with the bosses Luciano, Gagliano, Mangano, Maranzano, and Profaci. Over time, those groups became known by the later surnames Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese. In other words, the names shifted as leadership changed, but the shorthand stuck.

Why that matters

The phrase “Five Families” is really a convenient public label for New York’s five major Italian-American Mafia organizations. It helped reporters, investigators, and later historians talk about them as a set, even though each family had its own hierarchy and territory.

Quick example

For example, the group later called the Genovese family was tied to the boss name Vito Genovese, while the Gambino family reflects Carlo Gambino’s name. That pattern is why the family names sound like personal surnames rather than formal organization titles.

TL;DR: the Five Families’ names came from the surnames of major bosses, and the label itself was popularized by media and law enforcement in the 1960s.