Ferr History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

Venice, one of the oldest and most beautiful island regions of Italy, is the esteemed birthplace of numerous prominent families, including the family that bears the surname Ferr. 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 common type of family name found in Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's givenname, names derived from occupations are also found. Occupational surnames, which are less common than other types of surnames in Italy, date back to the feudal era. However, under the Feudal System, occupational names did not become hereditary until the offices themselves became hereditary. It was only after an occupation was inherited by several generations in lineal descent that occupational names came to be applied to entire families, and so became a hereditary surname. The surname Ferr comes from the Latin word ferro which means iron. The family likely were blacksmiths.

Early Origins of the Ferr family

The surname Ferr was first found in Modena (Etruscan: Mutna; Latin: Mutina; Modenese: Mòdna), where records can be found in 1271 of the Ferrari family living there at the Villa Mugnano.

Saint Vincent Ferrer, OP (1350-1419) was a Valencian Dominican friar and preacher, who gained acclaim as a missionary and a logician. He is honored as a saint of the Catholic Church and other churches of Catholic traditions. His feast day is April 5th.

Early History of the Ferr family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ferr research. The years 1471, 1480, 1499, 1508, 1530, 1546, 1584, 1603, 1653, 1655, 1662, 1681, 1850 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Ferr History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ferr Spelling Variations

Enormous variation in spelling and form characterizes those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. This is caused by two main factors: regional tradition, and inaccuracies in the recording process. Before the last few hundred years, scribes spelled names according to their sounds. Spelling variations were the unsurprising result. The variations of Ferr include Ferraro, Ferrari, Ferrario, Ferraris, Ferrai, Ferrero, Ferrarese, Ferreri, Ferrèri, Ferreli, Ferriero, Ferrieri, Ferrerio, Fevrero, Fevriero, Ferrer, Fer, Ferr, Fare, De Ferrari, Deferrari, Defferrari, De Ferraris, Ferrarello, Ferraretto, Ferrarini, Ferrarin, Ferrarotti, Ferrarone, Ferraron and many more.

Early Notables of the Ferr family

Prominent among members of the family was

Giovanni Matteo Ferrari, a doctor in Grado and the court physician to Francesco Sforza
Bartolomeo Ferrari was an ecclesiastic in Milan who studied law before dedicating his life to the church in 1499
Antonio Ferrero (died 1508), an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal
Lodovico Ferrari was a famous mathematician in Bologna in 1530
Benedetto Ferrari of Reggio (1603-1681) was a composer and in 1653 to 1662 was maestro of the chapel to the Duke of Modena
Giovanni Baptista 1 Ferrari (1584-1655), an Italian Jesuit and professor in Rome, a botanist, and an author of illustrated botanical books and a Latin-Syrian dictionary
Carlo Ferrari of Piacenza was a famous cellist and composed many sonatas and quartets during the early 18th century
Domenico Ferrari, also of Piacenza at this time, was an internationally renowned violinist and published 6 sets of violin sonatas
Carletta Ferrari of Lodi, was a famous woman composer around 1850
Gabriella Ferrari, a pianist and composer at this time

Migration of the Ferr family

In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Ferr Giovanni and John Ferrari, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1860; and Antonio Ferrari arrived in Philadelphia in 1871.

Citations +

Battista di Crollalanza, Giovanni, Dizionario Storico-Blasonico 3 vols. Pisa: Arnaldo Forini Editore, 1886. Print