| ![Show Contents]() Fortuna History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
From the historical and enchanting Italian region of Tuscany emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Fortuna family. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. 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 were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most common type of family name found in Tuscany 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 Fortuna is a name for a person of happy nature, good fortune and favorable destiny. This surname is derived from the Latin personal name Fortunatus, which means happy, chance, or luck. The Latin name was fashionable among early Christians, chosen to illustrate their joy in the faith. It was borne by a large number of early saints, which further increased its popularity as a given name in the Middle Ages. Early Origins of the Fortuna familyThe surname Fortuna was first found in the town of Volterra where Gianfranco Fortunio was a humanist and grammarian. He is famous for his work on Italian grammar and many of his theories and methods are used today by grammarians. Early History of the Fortuna familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fortuna research. The year 1746 is included under the topic Early Fortuna History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Fortuna Spelling VariationsItalian 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 Fortuna include Fortuna, Fortuni, Infortuna, Fortunio, Fortugno, Fortunato, Fortunati and many more. Early Notables of the Fortuna familyProminent among members of the family was - Fortunati from Parma, born in 1746, who was a composer of operas and symphonies...
Fortuna RankingIn the United States, the name Fortuna is the 9,449th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
 Fortuna migration to the United States | + |
In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Fortuna were found:
Fortuna Settlers in United States in the 16th Century- Jeronima Fortuna, who settled in New Granada in 1553-1554
Fortuna Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- M Fortuna, aged 23, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1831 2
- Peter Fortuna, who arrived in Savanna(h), Georgia in 1856 2
- Peter Fortuna, who arrived in Savannah, Georgia in 1856
- Francisco Fortuna, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1868 2
| Contemporary Notables of the name Fortuna (post 1700) | + |
- Diana Fortuna (b. 1956), American businesswoman, Chief Financial Officer of the Metropolitan Opera
- Brian Fortuna (b. 1982), American professional ballroom dancer, choreographer and instructor
- Wojciech Fortuna (b. 1957), former Polish Gold Medal-winning ski jumper
- "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)
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Fortuna migration to the United States 
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