Show ContentsPerat History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The distinguished surname Perat can be traced back to the ancient and beautiful region of Venice. 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 were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. The most common type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name. During the Middle Ages, Italians adopted the patronymic system of name-making because it perfectly complemented the prevailing Feudal System. In Italy the popularity of patronymic type of surname is also due to the fact that during the Christian era, people often named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Perat came from the personal name Pietro, or Peter, which is itself derived from the Greek word petrus meaning rock.

Early Origins of the Perat family

The surname Perat was first found in the city of Pavia, where records are found in 1040 with Manfredi and Arizzone Pietra, feudal Lords of the territories of Pietra, Bissone, and Costa.

Early History of the Perat family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Perat research. The years 1313, 1330, 1350, 1401, 1402, 1412, 1445, 1451, 1452, 1466, 1480, 1492, 1594, 1648, 1651, 1714, 1813, 1854, 1858, 1869 and 1877 are included under the topic Early Perat History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Perat 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 Perat are Pietri, Petri, Petris, Pedri, Pieri, Pero, Pierri, Pierro, Perris, Peire, Peiro, Peyro, De Pietri, De Pietro, Di Pietro, Di Pietro, De Petris, De Pero, Depero, Di Pierro, Petrich, Petric, Petrovich, Petrovic, Perich and many more.

Early Notables of the Perat family

Prominent among bearers of this family in early times was

  • Giovanni Pietro Perti or Peretti (1648-1714) was an Italian Baroque sculptor and architect. Two centuries later Enrico Petrella (1813-1877), was famous operatic composer from Palermo who composed 25 o...

Migration of the Perat family

In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Perat Joseph Dipietro, who was a soldier Naturalized at Camp Pike, Arkansas in 1918, a Pieretto who arrived in New Orleans in 1822 at the age of 23, Lina Petri, who settled in Texas in 1861, Luigi Dipieto, who was Naturalized in Chautauqua County, New York in 1906, and August Petronella, who emigrated to Philadelphia in 1868.



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