Benvenuti History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

The Benvenuti family can trace its noble origins to the Italian region of Tuscany. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most traditional type of family name found in the region of Tuscany is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, local surnames are also found. Local names, which are the least frequent of the major types of surnames found in Italy, are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, but does not necessarily denote nobility. The Benvenuti family lived in the lands of Tuscany.

Early Origins of the Benvenuti family

The surname Benvenuti was first found in the area of Florence. Earliest records can be found dating back to the Benvenuti family of counts, who moved to Cingoli from Florence in 1200.

Early History of the Benvenuti family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Benvenuti research. The years 1418, 1419, 1421, 1424, 1434, 1470, 1490, 1524, 1650, 1660, 1750 and 1828 are included under the topic Early Benvenuti History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Benvenuti Spelling Variations

In comparison with other European surnames, Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms. They reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each with its own distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the typical Italian surname suffix is "i", whereas in Southern Italy it is "o". Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. The spelling variations in the name Benvenuti include Benvenuti, Benvenuto, Benvegnu, Ventui, Venutti, Venuto, Venutelli, Begnudelli, Vignudelli, Vignodelli, Vignudini, Nuti, Nutini, Gnuti and many more.

Early Notables of the Benvenuti family

Prominent among members of the family was

Lorenzo Benvenuti, who was born in Florence in the late 14th century, and was mayor of the city in 1418, mayor of San Giovanni in 1419, and mayor of Prato in 1421. His brother Niccolo Benvenuti was al...
the Benvenuti di Cino family in Florence were well known for bearing six priests to the community in the 14th and 15th centuries
Pietro Benvenuti was a prominent architect in Ferrara in the 15th century
Giovanni Battista Benvenuti was a famous painter in Ferrara around 1490
Domenico Benvenuti was a talented organ builder in Siena in the 16th century, with organs in the main cathedral in Orvieto and in the chapel of Saint Peter in the Vatican in Rome. Giovanni Benvenuti w...
Giovanni Battista Benvenuti was a nobleman and soldier in Crema around 1660
Giuseppe Benvenuti was a doctor who dedicated his life to the church in 1750 in Pescia
Giovanni Antonio Benvenuti of Ancona was a nobleman and priest in the 18th century
Giovanni Antonio Benvenuti of Cingoli was cardinal of Pope Leone XII in 1828

Benvenuti migration to the United States +

An examination into the immigration and passenger lists has discovered a number of people bearing the name Benvenuti:

Benvenuti Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Agostino Benvenuti, aged 12, who settled in America, in 1892
Alibrando Benvenuti, aged 34, who landed in America, in 1894
Angelo Benvenuti, aged 23, who landed in America, in 1894
Tony Benvenuti, who arrived in Mississippi in 1896 1
Alessandro Benvenuti, aged 36, who landed in America, in 1897
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Benvenuti Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Arturo Benvenuti, aged 15, who settled in America from Napoli, Italy, in 1910
Ada Benvenuti, aged 12, who landed in America from Napoli, Italy, in 1910
Agostino Benvenuti, aged 5, who immigrated to the United States from Pescantina, Italy, in 1911
Angela Benvenuti, aged 12, who immigrated to the United States from Pescantina, Italy, in 1911
Alessandro Benvenuti, aged 30, who immigrated to America from Canimo, Italy, in 1913
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Benvenuti (post 1700) +

Giacomo Benvenuti (1885-1943), Italian composer and musicologist
Alessandro Benvenuti (b. 1950), Italian actor, film director and screenwriter
Pietro Benvenuti (1769-1844), Italian neoclassical painter
Andrea Benvenuti (b. 1969), Italian gold medalist runner at the 1994 European Championships
Leonardo Benvenuti (1923-2000), Italian Golden Globe nominated screenwriter who wrote 135 films between 1948 and 2000
Tommaso Benvenuti (b. 1990), Italian rugby union player
Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti (b. 1938), Italian gold medalist boxer at the 1960 Summer Olympics, five-time Italian Light Heavyweight Champion in the 1950s

Citations +

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)