Alfonso History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy
Spain

The distinguished surname Alfonso can be traced back to the ancient and beautiful region of Sicily, which is located off Southwestern Italy and incorporates the island of Sicily itself, the area of Naples, and the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt 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 were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. The most common type of family name found in the region of Sicily 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 Alfonso was derived from the personal name "Alfonso."

Alfonso Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: DiFonzo, DiFonso and others.

Alfonso Ranking

In the United States, the name Alfonso is the 4,584^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Alfonso migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Alfonso Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Sebastian Alfonso, who landed in America in 1812 2
Gonzalo Alfonso, who landed in America in 1813 2
Manuel Alfonso, aged 30, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1831 2
Juan Alfonso, aged 21, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1835 2
Lope Alfonso, who landed in Veragua in 1835 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Alfonso (post 1700) +

Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (1925-2003), known as “Celia Cruz”, Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century; she rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of guarachas, she became known internationally as the "Queen of Salsa"
Christian Alfonso López (b. 1989), Spanish professional footballer
María Luisa Vidal Alfonso (b. 1923), Spanish novelist
Luis Alfonso Páez (b. 1986), Colombian footballer
Luis Alfonso Alarcón Mansilla (1929-2023), popularly known as Lucho Alarcón, a Chilean actor, theatre director, and activist with a distinguished film, television, and stage career
Yonathan Alfonso Suazo Cuevas (b. 1989), Chilean footballer who has played since 2008
José Alfonso Belloso y Sánchez (1873-1938), El Salvador Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of San Salvador (1927-1938)
Juan Alfonso Baptista Díaz (b. 1976), Venezuelan actor and model
Charles Alfonso Kinder II (b. 1946), American novelist
Luis Alfonso Solorio (b. 1994), Mexican footballer

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)