Capo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

From the historical and enchanting Italian region of Tuscany emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Capo 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 Capo is a name for person who was the chief of the head from the Italian personal name Capo.

Early Origins of the Capo family

The surname Capo was first found in Florence (Italian: Firenze), where earliest records show Tenzone Caponsacco lived with his family in 1071. Other important people include Francesco Capi of Siena, a theologian who became Archbishop of Venice in 1461; Giacomo Capi was a knight in Mantua during the 15th century; Giovanni Francesco Capi was a knight and diplomat in Mantua around the same time.

Early History of the Capo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Capo research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1391, 1404, 1532, 1610, 1612, 1812 and 1821 are included under the topic Early Capo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Capo Spelling Variations

Italian 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 Capo include Capo, Capone, Caponi, Caponio, Caponetto, Caponetti, Caponnetto, Capoccia, Capi, Capozzi, Capocci, Capoccetti, Capoccioni, Capozza, Capozzo, Capozio and many more.

Early Notables of the Capo family

Prominent among members of the family was

Giulio Capone of Otratanto was a prominent theologian and lawyer in 1612
Ridolfo Capoferro or Capo Ferro of Cagli, Italian fencing master in the city of Siena, best known for his rapier fencing manual published in 1610
Francesco Capozzi of Ravenna was a famous poet and musician in 1812
Gaspare Capone of Naples was a respected philosopher and lawyer in 1821

Capo Ranking

In the United States, the name Capo is the 12,462^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Capo is ranked the 8,150^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2

Capo migration to the United States +

In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Capo were found:

Capo Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francisco Segundo Capo, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1837 3
Maria Capo, aged 55, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1850 3
Antonio Capo, aged 20, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1855 3
Miguel Capo, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1879 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Capo (post 1700) +

Rene Capo (1961-2009), American eight-time gold medalist judoka
Pedro Capó, Puerto Rican musician, grandson of Bobby Capó
Félix Manuel Rodríguez "Bobby" Capó (1922-1989), Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and television host

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)