Fortes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
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Spain

From the historical and enchanting region of Spain emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Fortes family. Originally, the Spanish people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in Spain is extremely interesting. The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in Spain were patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. Spanish patronymic names emerged as early as the mid-9th century and one of the most common patronymic suffix is "iz." The patronyms were derived from a variety of given names that were of many different origins. The name Fortes is derived from the Latin personal name Fortunio, which means fortunate.

Early Origins of the Fortes family

The surname Fortes was first found in Asturias, where the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula began in the eighth century. One of the earliest records of the family was Sancho Ordóñez (c. 895 - 929), King of Galicia from 926 and until his death in 929. He was the eldest son of Ordoño II, (c. 873-924) who king of Galicia from 910, and king of Galicia and León from 914 until his death.

Later, Sancho Ordóñez (before 1042- c.1080), a count who lived in the 11th-century. His father was Ordoño Bermúdez, an illegitimate son of King Bermudo II of León.

Early History of the Fortes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fortes research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1227, 1455, 1480, 1500, 1503, 1508, 1510, 1520, 1545 and 1570 are included under the topic Early Fortes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fortes Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ortiz, Hortiz, Fortiz, Fortes, Hortóñez, Hortoñez, Ordóñez, Ordoñez and many more.

Early Notables of the Fortes family

Prominent among members of the family were García Ordóñez, Count of Nájera in the late eleventh century; Garci Ordóñez de Villamayor, a twelfth century Aragonese nobleman; Elfa Ortiz, a noblewoman of Albarracin and her son García (in 1227 his brother was betrothed to the daughter of the King of Navarre; if his brother died García would marry her). Also of note were Alonso Ortiz (1455-1503), a Spanish humanist writer, Canon of Toledo in 1500; Bartolomé Ordóñez (c. 1480-1520), a Spanish sculptor who lived much of his life...
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fortes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fortes Ranking

In the United States, the name Fortes is the 16,164^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Fortes migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Fortes Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Salvador Fortes, who arrived in Florida in 1838 2
Philip Fortes, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1857 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Fortes (post 1700) +

Corsino António Fortes (1933-2015), Cape Verdean writer, poet and diplomat, the 1st Ambassador of Cape Verde to Portugal from 1975 until 1981
William Wyse Fortes, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge
Professor Meyer Fortes, British Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge
Emmanuel Fortes Nascimento (b. 1970), Brazilian gold and silver medalist freestyle swimmer at the 1991 Pan American Games

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)