I'm Italian and today the word "Lazzaro" is not used as a synonym of leper, but we still call "lazzaretto" the place where plague or leper sufferers had to stay, away from the city. So this name is not directly connected with leprosy, but is still strongly connected. In my opinion the connection with Lazarus from the Bible is stronger than the connection with leper.
Unfortunately, Lazzaro is an old Italian term for a leper, taken from the name and I assume the leper named Lazarus in the Bible. Not sure if it's commonly known in that sense today, but worth considering if you have ties to Italy. [noted -ed]