a name of the buffoon in the mimes (Cic. de Orat. 2.61, ad Fam. 9.16.10), is derived by Diodorus (Excerpta Vat. p. 129, ed. Dindorf) from a Latin who bore this name. This, however, is inadmissible: it comes from sanna (Juv. 6.306; Pers. 1.62, 5.91). The Italian Zanni (hence our Zany) probably comes from Sannio.
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
Smith, William
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890