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Tuscany, one of the oldest and most beautiful island regions of Italy, is the esteemed birthplace of numerous prominent families, including the family that bears the surname Garsia. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt 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; 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 are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most common type of family name found in Tuscany is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's givenname, names derived from occupations are also found. Occupational surnames, which are less common that other types of surnames in Italy, date back to the feudal era. However, under the Feudal System, occupational names did not become hereditary until the offices themselves became hereditary. It was only after an occupation was inherited by several generations in lineal descent, that occupational names came to be applied to entire families, and so became a hereditary surname. The surname Garsia is a name for a person who used a wire-toothed brush, to prepare and untangle hemp fibers. This surname is derived from the word garzolo, which means carded hemp, from the vulgar Latin verb cardjare. The surname may also be of nickname origin, derived from the Italian word garza which means heron, and was given to a tall, slender individual.
The surname Garsia was first found in Lucca, a city and comune in Tuscany, capital of the province of Lucca where Bascilican type churches abound and where the main branch of the family originates. Records can be found with the Garzoni family, who moved from Lucca to Bologna in 1228.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Garsia research. The years 1419, 1506, 1638, 1668, 1706 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Garsia History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Garsia are Garzia, Garzya, Garsia, Garcia, Garcea, Garzaria, Garzadori, Garzetta and many more.
Prominent among members of the family was
The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Garsia: Francis J. Garcia, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1866.