Donna History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

Early Origins of the Donna family

The surname Donna was first found in Piedmont (Italian: Piemonte, Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont), a territorial division of northern Italy at the foot of the Alps consisting of the provinces of Alessandria, Cuneo, Novara and Turin. Later Aosta and Vercelli were added and still later, Asti. History is related back to 49 B.C. The house of Savoy rose in 1000 A.D. In those ancient times only persons of rank, the podesta, clergy, city officials, army officers, artists, landowners were entered into the records. To be recorded at this time, at the beginning of recorded history, was of itself a great distinction and indicative of noble ancestry.

Early History of the Donna family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Donna research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1450 is included under the topic Early Donna History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Donna Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Danna, Dainese, Danese, Dainesi, Danise, Danisi, Danais, Dania, Dana, D'Ance, Dance, Daneuise, Danes and many more.

Early Notables of the Donna family

More information is included under the topic Early Donna Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Donna family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Alonso Dana, who came to Peru in 1598; Mary Dance, who came to New York, NY in 1824; Paul Danes, who came to New Orleans in 1827; D. Dana, who came to San Francisco in 1851.

Contemporary Notables of the name Donna (post 1700) +

Donna Marie Amato, American pianist born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Donna Damerel (1912-1941), American actress from Chicago, Illinois, known for Myrt and Marge (1933)
Donna Theo Strickland (b. 1959), Canadian professor at the University of Waterloo, born in Guelph Ontario, a pioneer in the field of lasers, the third woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics (2018)
Donna Wills Scheeder (1947-2022), American librarian and President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) from 2015 to 2017
Donna Biscoe (b. 1955), American actress from Fort Benning, Georgia, known for her work on In the Heat of the Night
Donna Marie Carson (1946-2019), American folk and folk-rock singer, member of the duo Hedge and Donna
Donna Farar, American songwriter, best known for co-writing the song "Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning" recorded by Willie Nelson in 1982
Donna Butterworth (1956-2018), American Golden Globe nominated actress from Los Angeles, California, known for The Family Jewels (1965), Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) and Summer Fun (1966)
Donna Hanover (b. 1950), born Donna Ann Kofnovec, an American journalist, radio and television personality, television producer, and actress
Donna Carter (1944-2018), Trinidadian politician and diplomat