Show ContentsDatta History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Datta is generally considered to be a Southern Italian name; however the earliest records we could find of the name occured in the north. Datta arose as a surname from several different sources: as a habitational name taken on from any of numerous places named Dattilo; from the personal name Dattilo, which was a form of a the Germanic personal name, Dado, Daddo, Datto etc.; and it was also a patronymic surname using the "D'" prefix meaning "from" to denote ancestry from someone of the personal name Attilio.

Early Origins of the Datta family

The surname Datta was first found in at Pavia, anciently Ticinum a town of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Pavia. Across the Ticino lies the borough of Borgo Ticino. The town is rich in monuments and art. Charlemagne completely destroyed the Lombards in 774. A Large amount of jealousy arose between Pavia and Milan and by 1056 it had resulted in open war: four centuries of war followed. 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 Datta family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Datta research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1300 and 1429 are included under the topic Early Datta History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Datta Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dattilo, Dattila, Dattili, Datta, Dattari, Dati and others.

Early Notables of the Datta family

More information is included under the topic Early Datta Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Datta family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Giuseppe (age 59), Giuseppe (age 12), and Salvatore Dattilo, who all arrived in New York city aboard the S.S. Anglia on April 13; 1891; Joseph M. Dattilo, who was listed in Naturalization records for Indiana for the years 1904-06.


Contemporary Notables of the name Datta (post 1700) +

  • Birendranath Datta (1935-2023), Indian academician, linguist, author, researcher of folklore, singer, and lyricist


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