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The distinguished surname Cristo 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 Cristo came from the name Christopher, the ancient and popular first name.

Early Origins of the Cristo family

The surname Cristo was first found in Milan (Italian: Milano, Milanese: Milan), the second-most populous city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy where the variant Cristoforis was first found.

Early History of the Cristo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cristo research. Another 20 words (1 lines of text) covering the years 1640, 1655 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Cristo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cristo Spelling Variations

Italian surnames come in far more variations than the names of most other nationalities. Regional traditions and dialects are a decisive factor in this characteristic. For example, northern names tend to end in "o", while southern in "i". Also important, but not unique to Italy, was the fact that before dictionaries and the printing press most scribes simply spelled words according to their sounds. The predictable result was an enormous number of spelling variations. The recorded spellings of Cristo include Cristoforo, Cristofori, Cristofaro, Cristofari, Cristoferi, Cristoforis, Cristofolo, Cristofoli, Cristofalo, Cristofano, Cristofani, De Cristoforo, De Cristofaro, De Cristofalo, Di Cristoforo, Cristoforetti, Cristofoletti, Cristofolini and many more.

Early Notables of the Cristo family

Prominent among bearers of this family in early times was

• Bartolomeo Cristofoli, born in Padua in 1655, a famous harpsichord maker who came from a family of musicians and composers
• Cristofaro or Cristoforo Caresana (ca. 1640-1709), an Italian Baroque composer, organist and tenor
• Pietro Paolo Cristofari, an artist in Rome during the 17th century, and his son Fabio who became a famous painter and mosaicist in Ravenna

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Cristo migration to the United States +

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Contemporary Notables of the name Cristo (post 1700) +

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