Genova History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

The Genova family can trace its noble origins to the Italian region of Piedmont. 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 Piedmont 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 Genova family lived in Genoa in Liguria. Genoa was one of the greatest seaports along the Mediterranean in the medieval era. Interestingly, the name was also a nickname for someone who was born or baptized in January and may have been derived from the Latin Janus.

Early Origins of the Genova family

The surname Genova was first found in the 13th century, when Giovanni Genoese moved his family from Genoa to Reggio-Calabria. Genua, is the ancient Ligurian name for the modern Italian city of Genoa.

Early History of the Genova family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Genova research. Another 72 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1370, 1491, 1563 and 1731 are included under the topic Early Genova History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Genova Spelling Variations

Italian surnames come in far more variations than the names of most other nationalities. Regional traditions and dialects are a decisive factor in this characteristic. For example, northern names tend to end in "o", while southern in "i". Also important, but not unique to Italy, was the fact that before dictionaries and the printing press most scribes simply spelled words according to their sounds. The predictable result was an enormous number of spelling variations. The recorded spellings of Genova include Genova, Genua, Genovese, Genovesi, Genoese, Genuardi, Genoino, Genoves and many more.

Early Notables of the Genova family

Prominent among members of the family was

the Genoino family in Naples was recognized as one of the few noble families during the 14th century. Marcantonio Genua (1491-1563) (Marco Antonio Passeri) was a Renaissance Aristotelian philosopher...

Genova Ranking

In the United States, the name Genova is the 12,216^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Genova migration to the United States +

Some of the first North American settlers with Genova name or one of its variants:

Genova Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jose Genova, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Genova (post 1700) +

Peter J. Genova, American Republican Party politician
Allan "Al" De Genova, Canadian Park Board Commissioner for the City of Vancouver
Nicholas de Genova, Research Professor at the University of Amsterdam
Jackie Genova, Australian-born exercise teacher

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)