Cristofaro History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

The distinguished surname Cristofaro 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 Cristofaro came from the name Christopher, the ancient and popular first name.

Early Origins of the Cristofaro family

The surname Cristofaro 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 Cristofaro family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cristofaro research. Another 20 words (1 lines of text) covering the years 1640, 1655 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Cristofaro History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cristofaro Spelling Variations

There 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 Cristofaro 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 Cristofaro family

Prominent among bearers of this family in early times was

Cristofaro or Cristoforo Caresana (ca. 1640-1709), an Italian Baroque composer, organist and tenor

Cristofaro migration to the United States +

In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Cristofaro

Cristofaro Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Panfilodi Cristofaro, who arrived in Arkansas in 1896 1

Cristofaro Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Joe Cristofaro, who landed in Arkansas in 1906 1

Citations +

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)