Cervini History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy

From the historical and enchanting Italian region of Tuscany emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Cervini family. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. 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. Although the most common type of family name found in Tuscany is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, the nickname type of surname is also frequently found. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The surname Cervini is a name for a person who was raven-haired or dark-complexioned. The surname Corvi is derived from the Italian word corvo, which comes from the Latin corvus, which means raven or crow. Furthermore, this nickname surname was often used to describe priests, probably because they dressed in black.

Early Origins of the Cervini family

The surname Cervini was first found in Lucca, a city and comune in Tuscany, capital of the province of Lucca and where Bascilican type churches abound. Records can be traced back to the 10th century with a Conte Fraolmo Corvaia who owned much land in the Val di Lima. It was at this time that Tuscany was taken over by the house of Boniface. Some of the earliest listings of the name include: Guglielmo Corvi, a professor of philosophy and logic at the University of Padua in 1250; Giovanni Corvini was an ecclesiastic and diplomat in Arezzo during the early 14th century.

Early History of the Cervini family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cervini research. The years 1615, 1636, 1638, 1681 and 1750 are included under the topic Early Cervini History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cervini Spelling Variations

Surnames that originated in Italy are characterized by an enormous number of spelling variations. Some of these are derived from regional traditions and dialects. Northern names, for instance, often end in "o", while southern names tend to end in "i". Other variations come from the fact the medieval scribes tended to spell according to the sound of words, rather than any particular set of rules. The recorded variations of Cervini include Corvi, Corvo, Cuorvo, Corbi, Corbo, Corbu, Crovi, Crovo, Corvetto, Corvietto, Corvini, Corvino, Corvinelli, Corvascio, Corbelli, Corbello, Corbellini, Corbetti, Corbetto, Corbittu, Corbini, Corbino, Corbucci, Corboli, Corbascio, Corbari, Corbato, Corbatti, Corbatto, Crovetti, Crovetto, Crovari, Crovara and many more.

Early Notables of the Cervini family

Prominent among members of the family was

Cardinal Marcello Cervini, who took the name of Marcellus II, being the last pope in the history who retained his baptismal name

Migration of the Cervini family

In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Cervini Beatrice Francesca Corvo, who arrived in New Orleans in 1778; Carlo Corbellini, aged 32, who arrived at Ellis Island from Delenio, Italy, in 1920; Carmela Corbellini, aged 22, who arrived at Ellis Island from Travo, Italy, in 1920.

Contemporary Notables of the name Cervini (post 1700) +

Joseph Antoine Cervini, French author, best known for his book titled Voyage Pittoresque dans les Pyrénées Françaises et les Départements Adjacent