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![Show Contents]() Cristofalo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Italy
The distinguished surname Cristofalo can be traced back to the ancient and beautiful region of Venice. 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 Venice 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 Cristofalo came from the name Christopher, the ancient and popular first name. Early Origins of the Cristofalo familyThe surname Cristofalo was first found in Milan (Italian: Milano, Milanese: Milan), the second-most populous city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy where the variant Cristoforis was first found. Early History of the Cristofalo familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cristofalo research. Another 20 words (1 lines of text) covering the years 1640, 1655 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Cristofalo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Cristofalo Spelling VariationsThere are many variations of most of those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. Some of these come from regional differences, like the tradition of ending northern names in "o" and southern names in "i". Others come from inaccuracies in the recording process, which were extremely common in the eras before dictionaries standardized spelling. Some of the spelling variations of Cristofalo are Cristoforo, Cristofori, Cristofaro, Cristofari, Cristoferi, Cristoforis, Cristofolo, Cristofoli, Cristofalo, Cristofano, Cristofani, De Cristoforo, De Cristofaro, De Cristofalo, Di Cristoforo, Cristoforetti, Cristofoletti, Cristofolini and many more. Early Notables of the Cristofalo familyProminent among bearers of this family in early times was Bartolomeo Cristofoli, born in Padua in 1655, a famous harpsichord maker who came from a family of musicians and composers; Cristofaro or Cristoforo Caresana (ca. 1640-1709), an Italian Baroque composer...
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cristofalo Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Cristofalo familyIn the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Cristofalo Marino DeCristofaro, aged 25, who emigrated to the United States from Volturno, Italy, in 1892; Pasquale DeCristofaro, aged 16, who settled in America from S. Shepaus, Italy, in 1904.
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