Fontana History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy
Spain

Noble surnames, such as Fontana, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Fontana, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. Many Spanish local names reflect Arabic words or place-names because Spain was conquered by the Muslim Moors from the 8th to 12th centuries.The Fontana family originally lived in the region of Fuentes which is a place-name that means fountains.

Early Origins of the Fontana family

The surname Fontana was first found in Castile, an important Christian kingdom of the Middle Ages.

Early History of the Fontana family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fontana research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1576, 1640 and 1680 are included under the topic Early Fontana History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fontana Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Fuentes, Fuente, de la Fuente, Fuentecilla, Fuéntez, Fuentez, Font, Fonte, Fontes, Fontecilla, Fontana, Fontano, Fontanal, Fontanales, Fontanals, Fontanella, Fontanet, Fontanillos and many more.

Early Notables of the Fontana family

Notable bearers of the family name Fontana were Juan Pedro Fontanella (1576-1680), a Catalan judge and advocate, co-instigator of the Catalan Revolt of 1640; seventeenth century Spanish navigator Bartolomé Fuentes; seventeenth century Catalan lawyer and politician Joan Pere...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fontana Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fontana Ranking

In the United States, the name Fontana is the 6,920^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Fontana is ranked the 2,622^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 2

Fontana migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Fontana Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Julian Fontana, aged 43, who arrived in Texas in 1828 3
Lasane Fontana, aged 4, who arrived in Key West, Fla in 1838 3
R D Fontana, aged 40, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1840 3
Dominique Fontana, aged 36, who landed in Missouri in 1844 3
T Fontana, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fontana Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Alfred Fontana, aged 26, who immigrated to the United States from Aclicart, Italy, in 1908
Agnese Fontana, aged 21, who landed in America from Lucca, Italy, in 1912
Adele Fontana, aged 18, who landed in America from Fasciandora, Italy, in 1913
Alberto Fontana, aged 8, who settled in America from Modena, Italy, in 1913
Alessandro Fontana, aged 18, who immigrated to the United States from Veroli, Italy, in 1913
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Fontana (post 1700) +

Dorothy Catherine "D.C." Fontana (1939-2019), American television script writer and story editor, best known for her work on the original Star Trek franchise and several Western television series
Dominic Joseph Fontana (1931-2018), American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years, inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2009
Tom Fontana (b. 1951), American three-time Primetime Emmy Award winning writer and producer
D C Fontana, American science fiction writer
Carl Fontana (1928-2003), American jazz trombonist
Paul J. Fontana, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Marine Corps, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories
Jorge "Cacho" Fontana (1932-2022), born Norberto Palese Filgueiras, an Argentine radio and television personality
Wayne Fontana (1945-2020), born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, an English rock and pop singer, best known for the 1965 hit "The Game of Love" with the Mindbenders
Donald "Don" Fontana (1931-2015), Canadian tennis player active in the 1950s and 1960s, inducted into the Tennis Canada Hall of Fame in 2000
Jimmy Fontana (1934-2013), Italian actor, composer and singer-songwriter, best known for his song "Che sarà" that was also performed by José Feliciano and Ricchi e Poveri
... (Another 5 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)