Gherardi History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

A variety of distinguished and notable names have emerged from the beautiful and historical Italian region of Tuscany, including the notable surname Gherardi. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany, who were originally known only by a single name, found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. This process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries, but it was not completed until the modern era. The development of Italian hereditary surnames followed general principles and were characterized by derivatives from one's given name. The patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, was one of the most common name types found in the region of Tuscany. This system of name-making was widely used because it linked well with the existing Feudal System and during the Christian era, many people named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Gherardi came from the personal name Gerard, which was itself derived from the Old German Gerhard, which means spear-brave.

Early Origins of the Gherardi family

The surname Gherardi was first found in Tuscany (Italian: Toscana), a region in central Italy, in the northern area of the Garfagnana. Records can be found as early as 970, with the Gherardinghi family who owned the castles of Verrucola, Bibbiano, Bogli, San Romano, and Sommacologna.

Early History of the Gherardi family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gherardi research. The years 1358, 1367, 1440, 1638 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Gherardi History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gherardi Spelling Variations

There are many variations of most of those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. Some of these come from regional differences, like the tradition of ending northern names in "o" and southern names in "i". Others come from inaccuracies in the recording process, which were extremely common in the eras before dictionaries standardized spelling. Some of the spelling variations of Gherardi are Gherardi, Gherardo, Gherardis, Ghirardi, Ghirardo, Gherlardi, Ghelardo, Ghilardi, Gerardi, Gheraldi, Ghiraldi, Ghiroldi, Geraldi, Geraldo, Geroldi, Giraldi, Giraldo, Ciraldo, Giraudo, Giraud, Girod, Giroldi, Gherardelli, Gherardini, Gherardinghi, Gerardini, Gerardello, Gherarducci, Gherardeschi, Della Gherardesca, Ghirardelli, Ghilardini, Ghelardini, Girardini, Girardin, Girardoni, Girardone, Girardengo, Geraldini and many more.

Early Notables of the Gherardi family

Prominent among members of the family was

also of this family was Ugolino Gherardesca, who was written about by Dante Alighieri. Guelfo Gerardini was head of the Guelph faction in Florence in 1358, and in 1367 he became an Ambassador in Rome...

Gherardi Ranking

In France, the name Gherardi is the 8,521^st most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Gherardi family

The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Gherardi: Donarto Gerardi, who arrived in Boston in 1822, Antoine Gerardin, who came to New York in 1849, and Joseph Gerardi, who was Naturalized in Shiawassee county Michigan in 1882..

Citations +

http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/