Show ContentsCristoforo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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

Early Origins of the Cristoforo family

The surname Cristoforo 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 Cristoforo family

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

Cristoforo Spelling Variations

In comparison with other European surnames, Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms. They reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each with its own distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the typical Italian surname suffix is "i", whereas in Southern Italy it is "o". Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. The spelling variations in the name Cristoforo 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 Cristoforo family

Prominent among bearers of this family in early times was

  • Cristofaro or Cristoforo Caresana (ca. 1640-1709), an Italian Baroque composer, organist and tenor


United States Cristoforo migration to the United States +

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Cristoforo were

Cristoforo Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Scoplatiempo Cristoforo, aged 34, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1858 [1]

Contemporary Notables of the name Cristoforo (post 1700) +

  • Cristoforo Pezzini (1892-1987), Italian member of the Italian Christian Democracy, Senator from Lombardy (1948-1968)
  • Cristoforo Benigno Crespi (1833-1920), Italian entrepreneur
  • Cristoforo Colombo, the Italian language name of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus


  1. 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)


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