Lion History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Italy

The distinguished surname Lion 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. 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. During the Middle Ages, Italians adopted the patronymic system of name-making because it perfectly complemented the prevailing Feudal System. In Italy the popularity of patronymic type of surname is also due to the fact that during the Christian era, people often named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Lion came from the given name Leoni which comes from the Latin Leo or Leonios, which means lion-like.

Early Origins of the Lion family

The surname Lion was first found in 1130, when Giovanni-Antonio Leoncilli owned much land around Spoleto.

Early History of the Lion family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lion research. The years 1425, 1457, 1509, 1537, 1540, 1588, 1596 and 1675 are included under the topic Early Lion History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lion Spelling Variations

In comparison with other European surnames, Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms. They reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each with its own distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the typical Italian surname suffix is "i", whereas in Southern Italy it is "o". Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. The spelling variations in the name Lion include Leoni, Leone, Leon, Lioni, Lione, Lion, Liuni, Leo, Lio, De Leone, De Leonibus, De Leo, Di Leo, Leonelli, Leonello, Leoncilli, Lionelli, Lionello, Leonetti, Lionetti, Leoncini, Leoncino, Leonotti and many more.

Early Notables of the Lion family

Prominent among members of the family was Bussadi Leoni, a noblewoman in Rome during the 15th century who married at age 12 and was known for her piety and charity. In 1425 she founded the Congregation of Women for Promoting Charitable Works. Domenico Leonessa of Naples became the Archbishop of Rossano in 1457. Leone Leoni was a medalist and sculptor born in Como in 1509. His talents became widely known and from 1537 to 1540 he was employed at the Papal mint. His son, Pompeo Leoni, also became a sculptor and medalist. He worked...
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lion Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lion Ranking

In France, the name Lion is the 1,657^th most popular surname with an estimated 3,634 people with that name. 1

Lion migration to the United States +

Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Lion or a variant listed above:

Lion Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Lion, who landed in Maryland in 1673 2
Margery Lion, who arrived in Maryland in 1673 2

Lion Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John M Lion, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 2
M Lion, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
Isaak Lion, who landed in North America in 1866 2
Jakob Lion, who arrived in Kansas in 1866 2
Morris Lion, who landed in Mississippi in 1881 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Lion (post 1700) +

Richard Lion, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, 2001 (Libertarian), 2003 3
Margo Lion, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 2008 3
Jean Dieudonné Lion, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 4
Richard Lion Russell (1924-2015), American finance writer, perhaps best known for his newsletter called the Dow Theory Letters that started in 1958
Doctor Lion Feuchtwanger (1884-1958), German author

Citations +

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, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, April 9) Jean Lion. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html