Grassi History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Italy

From the historical and fascinating Italian region of Venice emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Grassi family. 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 common type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, the nickname type of surname is also frequently found. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The surname Grassi came from a person who was corpulent or stout. The surname Grassi is derived from the word grasso, which means overweight.

Early Origins of the Grassi family

The surname Grassi was first found in the city of Milan, in the region of Lombardy

Early History of the Grassi family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grassi research. The years 1418, 1459, 1481, 1520, 1570, 1571, 1773 and 1800 are included under the topic Early Grassi History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grassi Spelling Variations

Surnames that originated in Italy are characterized by an enormous number of spelling variations. Some of these are derived from regional traditions and dialects. Northern names, for instance, often end in "o", while southern names tend to end in "i". Other variations come from the fact the medieval scribes tended to spell according to the sound of words, rather than any particular set of rules. The recorded variations of Grassi include Grassi, Grasso, De Grassi, Degrassi, Lo Grasso, La Grassa, Grasselli, Grassellini, Grassaleoni, Grassilli, Grassigli, Grassetti, Grassini, Grassani and many more.

Early Notables of the Grassi family

Prominent among bearers of this family in early times was

Giovannino De Grassi, an architect, sculptor, and miniaturist from Lombardy who helped to engineer the Milan Cathedral in the early 15th century. Nascimbene Grassaleoni of Ferrara became mayor of Sass...
Ildebrando Grassi of Bologna was made Cardinal by Pope Eugenio III; Clemente d'Amerigo di Bartolo Grasso was a famous priest in Florence in 1481
Later members who share the Grassi heritage include Josephina Grassini, a contralto singer born in Varese in 1773. In 1800 Napoleon took her to Paris, where she remained in his court for 15 years before re...

Grassi Ranking

In the United States, the name Grassi is the 15,819^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Grassi is ranked the 8,348^th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 2

Grassi migration to the United States +

An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Grassi arrived in North America very early:

Grassi Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Grassi, aged 35, who landed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1810 3
Frank Grassi, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850-1865 3

Grassi Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Agenone Grassi, aged 0, who landed in America from Amelia, Italy, in 1907
Agostino Grassi, aged 31, who landed in America from Fomenta, Italy, in 1911
Adolfo Grassi, aged 24, who landed in America from Cotronei, Italy, in 1911
Adalgisa Grassi, aged 23, who settled in America from Castelluccio, Italy, in 1912
Agata Grassi, aged 22, who immigrated to America from Berceto, Italy, in 1913
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Grassi (post 1700) +

Alex De Grassi (b. 1952), American Grammy Award-nominated fingerstyle guitarist
Frances Grassi, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1960 4
Giuseppe Grassi (1883-1950), Italian politician, Italian Minister of Justice (1947–1950)
Franz Dominic Grassi (1801-1880), Italian merchant in Leipzig
Ernesto Grassi (1902-1991), Italian philosopher
Davide Grassi (b. 1986), Italian professional footballer
Claudio Grassi (b. 1985), Italian tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour
Carlo Grassi (1911-1945), Italian worker and partisan from Treviso
Alberto Grassi (b. 1995), Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club SPAL
Giovanni Battista Grassi (1854-1925), Italian zoologist awarded the Darwin Medal in 1896
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html