Massa History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of notable family names, including that of the distinguished Massa family. Originally, the people in this region went by one (personal) name. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. These names then began to become "fixed" or hereditary between the generations. The Massa surname derives from the Old French word "masse," which refers to the heavy metal tipped war club called a mace; and as such was thought to have been an occupational name for a soldier who carried a mace. The surname may also have been taken on from any of several places with names such as Masse, LaMasse, Massé.

Early Origins of the Massa family

The surname Massa was first found in Savoy (French: Savoie) in the Rhône-Alpes region of the French Alps, where this celebrated family has held a family seat from ancient times.

Throughout the centuries, this family prospered and branched to several regions where members became prominent citizens of their respective areas. As a result of their prominence in society, the family members formed many alliances with other powerful families of the times and in this way, property and titles were exchanged according to the pacts.

From Lombardie, the family branched to Provence and by 1667 they were granted the titles of Lords of Rustrel, of Chauvet, of Serluc and of La Rouvière.

François Masse, born in 1722, son of Richard and Jeanne (née Jordan), travelled from Normandy to New France in the 18th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Marthe Paradis, born in 1718, at Rivière-Ouelle on 12th January 1745. They settled together in Rivière-Ouelle until his death on 27th May 1782. 1

Early History of the Massa family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Massa research. Another 48 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1574, 1577, 1603, 1608, 1613, 1646, 1648, 1689, 1697, 1701 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Massa History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Massa Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Masse, Masses, Massey, Massait, Massaie, Massaies, Massé, Masser, Massée and many more.

Early Notables of the Massa family

Notable in the family name at this time was Énemond Massé (1574-1646), French Jesuit missionary from Lyon who arrived in Acadia with Pierre Biard in 1608, but later had to move to Bar Harbor, Maine; and Henri de Massue, 2nd Marquis de Ruvigny, afterward Earl of Galway PC (1648-1720), a French Huguenot soldier...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Massa Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Massa Ranking

In the United States, the name Massa is the 5,738^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Massa is ranked the 3,254^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 3

Massa migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Massa Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anna Margaretha Massa, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1738 4

Massa Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Lucca Massa, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1800 4
P Massa, aged 22, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1842 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Massa (post 1700) +

Gordon Richard Massa (1935-2016), American Major League Baseball player for the Chicago Cubs (1957-1958)
Eric James Joseph Massa (b. 1959), American politician, former U.S. Representative for the 29th Congressional District of New York
William Massa (b. 1921), American politician, Candidate for Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, 1985 5
Peter C. Massa, American politician, Mayor of North Arlington, New Jersey, 2007 5
Gloria Massa, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1972 5
Dominic J. Massa, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Nassau County 4th District, 1944 5
Edgardo Massa (b. 1981), retired tennis player from Argentina
Giuseppe Massa (b. 1948), retired Italian professional football player
Mario Massa (1892-1956), Italian freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
Geofrey Massa (b. 1986), Ugandan footballer
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html