Show ContentsCardi History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Cardi surname comes from the personal (first) name Riccardo, which is the Italian cognate of Richard.

Early Origins of the Cardi family

The surname Cardi was first found in Sardinia (Italian: Sardegna, Sardinian: Sardigna), the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The original inhabitants were Sicels. The Greeks colonized the island in 735 B.C. and Phoenician settlements began in 6th century. The Carthaginians arrived in 410, followed by the Romans. After the decline of Rome, the island was under the power of the Saracens. Then in 1057, Sicily was conquered by the Normans. The time of conquest is said to be Sicily's brightest hour, having made the Sicilians the leading Maritime power in the Mediterranean and King Roger of Sicily one of Europe's greatest kings. In those ancient times only persons of rank, the podesta, clergy, city officials, army officers, artists, landowners were entered into the records. To be recorded at this time, at the beginning of recorded history, was of itself a great distinction and indicative of noble ancestry.

Early History of the Cardi family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cardi research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1368, 1449, 1566, 1585, 1602, 1639 and 1833 are included under the topic Early Cardi History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cardi Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rizzardi, Riccardi, Riccardo, Ricciardi, Ricciardo, Riccardini, Ricciardella, Rizzardini, Cardini, Cardazzo and many more.

Early Notables of the Cardi family

Prominent among bearers of this surname in early times was

  • Nicholas Riccardi (1585-1639) of Genoa, a Dominican theologian, writer and preacher...
  • Ignazio (Ignace) Cardini (1566-1602) was a Corsican medical doctor, naturalist and humanist of Italian descent, born in Bastia, Corsica...

Cardi Ranking

In France, the name Cardi is the 6,060th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Cardi family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: William Cardino, who came to Ontario in 1871; Vincenzo Ricciardi, who came to New York, NY in 1893; Giuseppe Ricciardi, who settled in New York, NY in 1893.



  1. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/


Houseofnames.com on Facebook