Donizetti History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

From the ancient and picturesque Italian region of Venice emerged a variety of distinguished names, including the notable surname Donizetti. 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 are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most traditional type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, local surnames are also found. Local names, which are the least frequent of the major types of surnames found in Italy, are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, but does not necessarily denote nobility. The Donizetti family lived in the city of Verona, where members of the Dionisi family were involved in the Noble Council in 1422.

Early Origins of the Donizetti family

The surname Donizetti was first found in the city of Verona, where members of the Dionisi family were involved in the Noble Council in 1422.

Early History of the Donizetti family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Donizetti research. The years 1736, 1797, 1818, 1819, 1824 and 1830 are included under the topic Early Donizetti History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Donizetti 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 Donizetti include Dionisio, Dioniso, Donio, Dionisotti, Dionisi, Dionis, Doniso, Donisi, D'Onise, D'Onisi, Addonisio, Addonizio, Denisi, Dionigi and many more.

Early Notables of the Donizetti family

Prominent among members of the family was

Gaetano Donizetti was born at Bergamo, Nov. 29 [App. p.617 "Nov. 25"], 1797, six years after Rossini; and though he began his career at a very early age, he never achieved any important success until...

Migration of the Donizetti family

Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Donizetti or a variant listed above: Antonio Donis, age 22, who arrived in New York city in 1820; Achille Dionisi, aged 29, who arrived at Ellis Island from Porto S. Giorgio, Italy, in 1913.

Contemporary Notables of the name Donizetti (post 1700) +

Mario Donizetti (b. 1932), Italian painter, essayist from Bergamo, Lombardy
Giuseppe Donizetti (1788-1856), Italian musician, Instructor General of the Imperial Ottoman Music at the court of Sultan Mahmud II (1808–1839)
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Italian composer, a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century
Sérgio Luís Donizetti (b. 1964), best known as João Paulo, is a Brazilian gold and silver medalist former association footballer, who played as a striker
Aparecido Donizetti de Souza (b. 1973), known as Donizetti or Doni, a Brazilian footballer