Show ContentsPonte History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Ponte surname was taken on from any of the many place names in Italy called Ponte, or from places derived from the Italian word "ponte," which means "bridge." Local names are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, but does not necessarily denote nobility.

Early Origins of the Ponte family

The surname Ponte was first found in Emilia-Romagna. Although this name arose independently in various parts of Italy, the first recorded instances of the name found are of the Ponte di Venezi family, ennobled in 1297, who are said to be originally of Ferrara. There are more than fourteen municipalities and parishes found in Italy today.

Early History of the Ponte family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ponte research. Another 204 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1385, 1418, 1438, 1440, 1442, 1462, 1495, 1512, 1534, 1535, 1560, 1595, 1622 and 1693 are included under the topic Early Ponte History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ponte Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ponte, Ponti, Da Ponte, Dal Ponte, Del Ponte, Pontello, Pontelli, Pontel, Ponticiello, Ponticelli, Pontillo, Pontini, Pontoni, Ponton, Pontiroli, Pontalti, Pontano, Pontormo and many more.

Early Notables of the Ponte family

Prominent among members of the family was

  • Giovanni dal Ponte (1385-c.1438), Italian, Florentine painter; as well as Giovanni Pontano, a 15th century humanist, poet, and diplomat from Cerreto who served three Kings of Naples
  • Piero del Ponte (1462-1535) was the 45th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John between 1534 and 1535. He hailed from Asti, in northern Italy and was a descendant of the ancient family of Casal-Gros...
  • Antonio da Ponte (1512-1595), was an Italian architect and engineer from Venice, most famous for his rebuilding the Rialto Bridge. Lodovico Pontano, was a juris-consult in Spoleto; Antonio Ponti, Arch...
  • Jacopo Pontormo of Empoli, was a prominent painter in Florence around 1495 and his son Girolamo da Ponte (1560-1622), was also an Italian painter

Ponte Ranking

In the United States, the name Ponte is the 12,978th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


United States Ponte migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ponte Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Petronila Ponte, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1811 2
  • Maria Joseia Ponte, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1821-1831 2
  • I P Ponte, aged 40, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1824 2
  • Pedro Ponte, aged 40, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1825 2
  • Louis Ponte, who arrived in America in 1825
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Ponte migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ponte Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Guiseppe Ponte, age 47, who arrived in New York on Jan. 23, 1885, aboard the "Canada"

West Indies Ponte migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3
Ponte Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century
  • Antonio Ponte, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1835 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Ponte (post 1700) +

  • Gabriele "Gabry" Ponte (b. 1973), Italian DJ, remixer, record producer, and radio personality from Turin, Italy
  • Raimondo Ponte (b. 1955), former Swiss-Italian footballer
  • Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838), Italian Venetian librettist and poet, born Emanuele Conegliano, who later moved to New York
  • Laura Ponte y Martínez (b. 1973), Spanish model from Vigo, daughter of José Manuel Ponte Mittelbrunn (born 1942)
  • Moshe Ponte (b. 1956), Israeli former Olympic silver medalist judoka, President of the Israel Judo Association
  • Marcos Cesar Ponte (b. 1963), Brazilian Air Force pilot
  • Dulce José Silva Ponte (b. 1969), Portuguese songwriter and singer
  • Robson Ponte (b. 1976), Brazilian football player
  • Carla Del Ponte (b. 1947), Swiss lawyer, who was a Chief Prosecutor at two United Nations international criminal law tribunals and Swiss attorney general


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


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