Corelli History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

From the ancient and beautiful Italian island of Sicily emerged a variety of distinguished names, including the notable surname Corelli. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt 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 were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Local names, also 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, and does not necessarily denote nobility. The Corelli family lived in a town just outside Palermo, as in 1189, a member of the Caro family was the Archbishop of Monreale.

Early Origins of the Corelli family

The surname Corelli was first found in Sicily (Italian: Sicilia), the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, Naples and the southern portion of the peninsula. Research shows that records of the Corelli family date back to the year 1189 when a member of the Caro family was the Archbishop of Monreale, a town just outside Palermo.

Early History of the Corelli family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Corelli research. The years 1460, 1470, 1499, 1507, 1508, 1520, 1525, 1543, 1557, 1566, 1571, 1602, 1610, 1653, 1713, 1725, 1770, 1825 and 1841 are included under the topic Early Corelli History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Corelli Spelling Variations

Enormous variation in spelling and form characterizes those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. This is caused by two main factors: regional tradition, and inaccuracies in the recording process. Before the last few hundred years, scribes spelled names according to their sounds. Spelling variations were the unsurprising result. The variations of Corelli include Caro, Cari, Cara, De Caro, Di Caro, Di Cara, La Cara, Li Cari, Carello, Carelli, Carella, Carillo, Caretti, Caroli, Caretta, Carino, Carini, Caruccio, Carucci, Carocci, Carracci, Caricchio, Caricchia, Carollo, Carullo, Carulli, Carotti, Carone, Caroni, Carofiglio, Carofratello, Carolillo, Carotenuto and many more.

Early Notables of the Corelli family

Prominent among bearers of this surname in early times was

Others include Gioffredo Caroli, who was the mayor of Salozzo in 1460; Michelotto Corella (killed 1508), a Valencian condottiero; Annibale Caro, (1507-1566) Italian nobleman and famous author in Civit...

Migration of the Corelli family

A look at the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Corelli: Miss Cara, who sailed to New Orleans in 1821, and S. Caro, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851.

Contemporary Notables of the name Corelli (post 1700) +

Bruno Corelli (1918-1983), Italian actor
Franco Corelli (1921-2003), Italian tenor
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), Italian composer
Marie Corelli (1855-1924), born Mary Mackay, a British novelist, perhaps best known for her first novel A Romance of Two Worlds in 1886; at one time she was the most widely read author of fiction
Ureli Corelli Hill (1802-1875), American conductor, and the first president and conductor of the New York Philharmonic Society