Donato History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

The distinguished surname Donato originated in an area of Italy, known as the Papal States. 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 the Papal States 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 Donato family lived in the city of Assisi in 1160.

Early Origins of the Donato family

The surname Donato was first found in the region of Umbria, where earliest records show that a Donato lived in the city of Assisi in 1160 and was of the Guelph faction.

Early History of the Donato family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Donato research. The years 1458, 1509, 1580 and 1603 are included under the topic Early Donato History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Donato 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 Donato include Donato, Donati, Dona, De Donato, De Dona, Di Donato, Donatelli, Donatello, Donatini, Donadini, Donatoni, Donadoni and many more.

Early Notables of the Donato family

Prominent among members of the family was

Bernardo Donato was from a wealthy family of counts in Verona and became a teacher
Baldassare Donato was a 16th century composer and singer in the Venetian cathedral of San Marco

Donato Ranking

In the United States, the name Donato is the 4,650^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Donato migration to the United States +

Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Donato or a variant listed above:

Donato Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jose Donato, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1860 2
Angelantonio Donato, aged 34, who landed in America from Guingliano, in 1895

Donato Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Angela Donato, aged 58, who immigrated to the United States from Castrovillari, Italy, in 1902
Alberto Donato, aged 16, who landed in America from Poutyrande, Italy, in 1907
Alfonso Donato, aged 16, who immigrated to the United States from Pianopoli, Italy, in 1909
Alfonso Donato, aged 16, who landed in America from Pionopoli, Catanzaro, Italy, in 1909
Adelina Donato, aged 16, who landed in America from Italy, in 1911
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Donato (post 1700) +

Gaetano Aldo "Thomas" Donato (1940-2015), Italian American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey
Ryan Donato (b. 1996), American ice hockey center, son of Ted Donato
Edward Paul "Ted" Donato (b. 1969), retired American NHL ice hockey player
Eugenio Donato (1937-1983), Armenian-Italian deconstructionist, literary critic, and philosophical critic
Fabrizio Donato (b. 1976), Italian two-time gold medalist long jumper
João Donato de Oliveira Neto (1934-2023), Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist from Rio Branco
Marc Donato (b. 1989), Canadian actor, best known for his role as Derek Haig on Degrassi: The Next Generation
Guy Donato (b. 1941), Filipino actor
Andy Donato (b. 1937), Canadian editorial cartoonist for the Toronto Sun newspaper
Donato Antonio "Don" Nardella (b. 1958), Australian politician, Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Melton (1999-2018)

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)