Merino History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Italy

The distinguished surname Merino 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 Merino came from the name Marino, which is further derived from the Latin Marinus, which means of the sea. During the Middle Ages, parents frequently named their children after saints in the hopes of obtaining the grace and protection of the invoked saint for the child. The name Marino became popular because of devotion to several saints, including Saint Marino the Bishop of Rimini and Saint Marino who, according to tradition, founded the first Christian community on Mount Titano and from whom the Republic of San Marino takes its name. Alternatively, the surname Marini is of local origin, derived from the place named Marino, which is situated near Rome.

Early Origins of the Merino family

The surname Merino was first found in Orvieto, a small city which lies southwest of Perugia, where Ugolino Marini was consul for the town in 1068.

Early History of the Merino family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Merino research. Another 151 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1251, 1414, 1528, 1569, 1571, 1605, 1608, 1625, 1627, 1653 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Merino History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Merino 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 Merino include DeMarini, DeMarinis, LaMarina, Marinacci, Marinaccio, Marinato, Marinazzo, Marinella, Marin, Marinetti, Marini, Mariniello, Marino, Marinolli, Marinoni, Marinotti, Marinotto, Marinucci, Marinuzzi and many more.

Early Notables of the Merino family

Prominent among members of the family was Lucrezia Marinella (c.1571-1653), an Italian author; Onorio Marinari (1627-1715), an Italian painter and printmaker of the Baroque period; and Giambattista Marino (1569-1625), better known as Il Cavaliere Marino, a poet and...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Merino Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Merino Ranking

In the United States, the name Merino is the 6,113^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Merino is ranked the 8,373^rd most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 2

Merino migration to the United States +

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

Merino Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Pedro Merino, aged 45, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1829 3
Juan Merino, aged 30, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1831 3
Lazaro Merino, who landed in Cartagena in 1834 3
Francisco Merino, who landed in Rio de la Plata in 1835 3
Antonio Merino, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1878 3

Merino migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Merino Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Miguel Merino, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1836 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Merino (post 1700) +

Rafael Merino, American Republican politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly 34th District, 2000 5
Felipe Merino, American politician, Candidate for Mayor of Hawthorne, California, 2003 5
Angelo Merino, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, 1939 5
Luis Alonso Anaya Merino (b. 1981), Salvadoran professional soccer player

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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html