Gentile History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
France
Germany
Italy

From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Gentile family. Originally, the French people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in France is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Gentile is a nickname type of surname for a person of good manners and courteous nature derived from the Old French word "gentil."

Early Origins of the Gentile family

The surname Gentile was first found in Picardy (French: Picardie) in the arrondissement of d'Amiens, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Gentile family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gentile research. Another 224 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1070, 1589, 1652, 1766, 1771 and 1774 are included under the topic Early Gentile History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gentile Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gentile, Gentille, Jentile, Jentille, Gentiles, Gentilles, Gentil, Jentiles, Jentilles, Chentile, Chentille, Chentiles, Chentilles, Chantile, Chantille, Chantilly, De Chantilly, Chantiles, Chantilles, Jentile, Jentille and many more.

Early Notables of the Gentile family

Notable amongst the family name at this period was

Muzio Gentile, the Governor of Crest in 1589

Gentile Ranking

In the United States, the name Gentile is the 2,902^nd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1

Gentile migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gentile Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Marido Gentile, aged 29, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1848 2
Nicodemo Gentile, who arrived in America in 1889
Agostino Gentile, aged 4, who landed in America, in 1896
Michele Gentile, who settled in New York, NY in 1899

Gentile Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Agostino Gentile, aged 19, who immigrated to America from Campobello, Sicily, in 1910
Amillo Gentile, aged 16, who landed in America from Ageroli, Italy, in 1910
Angela Gentile, aged 18, who settled in America from Gagliano, Sicily, in 1910
Alfio Gentile, aged 18, who landed in America from S. Fratello, Sicily, in 1912
Achille Gentile, aged 19, who immigrated to the United States from Campotant, Italy, in 1912
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Gentile (post 1700) +

James Edward Gentile (b. 1934), American former Major League Baseball first baseman
Major Dominic "Don" Salvatore Gentile (1920-1951), American World War II fighter ace credited with over 26 victories
Dominic S. Gentile, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the Royal Air Force then the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 21.83 aerial victories
Vincent Jacques-Etienne Avogari de Gentile, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 3
Claudio Gentile (b. 1953), Italian football coach and former defender who appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments
Giovanni Gentile (1875-1944), Italian philosopher
Edera Gentile (1920-1993), Italian Olympic athlete in the Discus
Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1427), Italian painter

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)
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Vincent Gentile. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html