Antonio History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

Antonio is one of the surnames to have emerged from the beautiful and historical Italian region of Tuscany. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. This process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries, but it was not completed until the modern era. The patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, was one of the most common names created at that time in the region of Tuscany. The surname Antonio came from the given name Antonius, which in English is known in the forms Anthony and Antony. The given name Antonius means inestimable or strength. The Antonio family surname has its roots in the ancient Roman period and possibly earlier, in the Etruscan period. The most famous member of this family is Marc Antony (Marcus Antonius), the famous Roman general, politician and orator born in 83 B.C. Antony was of a distinguished family related to Julius Caesar. After Caesar's assassination Antony aroused the masses against the conspirators who murdered his relative and patron. Perhaps the most memorable aspect of his life was his love affair with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. The tragic end of this couple has been the subject of much literature, including one of Shakespeare's plays.

Early History of the Antonio family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Antonio research. The years 1355, 1372, 1374, 1430, 1540, 1617, 1643, 1668, 1684, 1697, 1700, 1725, 1726 and 1732 are included under the topic Early Antonio History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Antonio Spelling Variations

Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms in comparison with other European surnames because they reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each of which has its distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the most standard Italian surname suffix is "I", whereas in Southern Italy the most typical surname suffix is "O". Sardinian is very different from other forms of Italian and in fact, it is considered to be its own distinct language. Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes, church officials, and the bearers of names, spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. As a consequence of the major changes in the Italian language and in the local spellings of Italian surnames that occurred over the course of history, there are numerous variations for the surname Antonio. These spelling variations include Antony, Anthony, Antni, Antnia, Antnio, Antoni, Antonia, Antonio, De Antoni, Di Antonio, Antonèllo, D'Antonio, Antonello, Antonelli, Antonetti, Antonetto, Antonietti, Antonazzi, Antonazzo, Antoniutti, Antonioli, Antuoni, Antonino, Antonicelli, Antonucci, Antognini, Antognetti, Antognoli, Toni, Tony, Tonelli, Tonicello, Tonello, Tonino, Tonini, Tonizzo, Tonolli and many more.

Early Notables of the Antonio family

Prominent among members of the family was

Antonia of Baux (c. 1355-1374), the second Queen consort of Frederick III, King of Sicily (1372-1374.) Antonio de Messina, was a painter in Messina, born in 1430. He specialized in still life, his mos...
Antonio di Ferraris was a painter from Lombardy during the 15th century whose works are featured in a castle in Pavia. Nicolás Antonio (1617-1684), was a Spanish bibliographer from Seville and Francis...

Antonio Ranking

In the United States, the name Antonio is the 4,320^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Antonio is ranked the 3,741^st most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 2

Antonio migration to the United States +

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Antonio were

Antonio Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Antonio, aged 26, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1827 3
Pedro Antonio, aged 56, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1831 3
Pepe Antonio, aged 30, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1835 3
Diego Antonio, aged 40, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1835 3
Jose Antonio, aged 28, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1837 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Antonio migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Antonio Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Augustine Antonio, English convict who was convicted in Lancashire, England for life, transported aboard the "Baring" in April 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. Osa Antonio, British Convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 6th April 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Andrew Antonio, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 20th January 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6

Antonio migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Antonio Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Frances Antonio, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Morning Star" in 1861

Contemporary Notables of the name Antonio (post 1700) +

Luigi Antonio, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 23rd District, 1922 7
James F. Antonio (b. 1939), American Republican politician, Missouri State Auditor, 1979- 7
Émile Antonio (1928-2022), French footballer from Auzat-la-Combelle, France who played as a midfielder (1946-1972)
Lauro António de Carvalho Torres Corado (1942-2022), Portuguese film director, his 1980 film Morning Undersea was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Diploma
George Rowlands Antonio (1914-1997), English professional footballer
Rogelio Antonio Jr. (b. 1962), Filipino chess player
Michail Gregory Antonio (b. 1990), English footballer
Giovanni Antonio Amato (1475-1555), or Amati, Italian painter of the Renaissance period. Born in Naples
José Antonio Ardanza Garro (1941-2024), Spanish politician, 2nd Lehendakari of the Basque Country (1985-1999)
Manuel Antonio Caballero Agüero (1931-2010), Venezuelan historian, journalist, best-selling author and professor of contemporary Venezuelan History at the Central University of Venezuela

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html