Ferrari History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy
Portugal

Venice, 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 Ferrari. 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 are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most common type of family name found in Venice 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 than 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 Ferrari comes from the Latin word ferro which means iron. The family likely were blacksmiths.

Early Origins of the Ferrari family

The surname Ferrari was first found in Modena (Etruscan: Mutna; Latin: Mutina; Modenese: Mòdna), where records can be found in 1271 of the Ferrari family living there at the Villa Mugnano.

Saint Vincent Ferrer, OP (1350-1419) was a Valencian Dominican friar and preacher, who gained acclaim as a missionary and a logician. He is honored as a saint of the Catholic Church and other churches of Catholic traditions. His feast day is April 5th.

Early History of the Ferrari family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ferrari research. The years 1471, 1480, 1499, 1508, 1530, 1546, 1584, 1603, 1653, 1655, 1662, 1681, 1850 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Ferrari History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ferrari Spelling Variations

Enormous variation in spelling and form characterizes those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. This is caused by two main factors: regional tradition, and inaccuracies in the recording process. Before the last few hundred years, scribes spelled names according to their sounds. Spelling variations were the unsurprising result. The variations of Ferrari include Ferraro, Ferrari, Ferrario, Ferraris, Ferrai, Ferrero, Ferrarese, Ferreri, Ferrèri, Ferreli, Ferriero, Ferrieri, Ferrerio, Fevrero, Fevriero, Ferrer, Fer, Ferr, Fare, De Ferrari, Deferrari, Defferrari, De Ferraris, Ferrarello, Ferraretto, Ferrarini, Ferrarin, Ferrarotti, Ferrarone, Ferraron and many more.

Early Notables of the Ferrari family

Prominent among members of the family was

Giovanni Matteo Ferrari, a doctor in Grado and the court physician to Francesco Sforza
Bartolomeo Ferrari was an ecclesiastic in Milan who studied law before dedicating his life to the church in 1499
Lodovico Ferrari was a famous mathematician in Bologna in 1530
Benedetto Ferrari of Reggio (1603-1681) was a composer and in 1653 to 1662 was maestro of the chapel to the Duke of Modena
Giovanni Baptista 1 Ferrari (1584-1655), an Italian Jesuit and professor in Rome, a botanist, and an author of illustrated botanical books and a Latin-Syrian dictionary
Carlo Ferrari of Piacenza was a famous cellist and composed many sonatas and quartets during the early 18th century
Domenico Ferrari, also of Piacenza at this time, was an internationally renowned violinist and published 6 sets of violin sonatas
Carletta Ferrari of Lodi, was a famous woman composer around 1850
Gabriella Ferrari, a pianist and composer at this time

Ferrari World Ranking

In the United States, the name Ferrari is the 4,477^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Ferrari is ranked the 830^th most popular surname with an estimated 6,174 people with that name. 3 And in South America, the name Ferrari is the 36^th popular surname with an estimated 99 people with that name. 4

Ferrari migration to the United States +

In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Ferrari

Ferrari Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Emilio Ferrari, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1863 5
Joseph Ferrari, who arrived in Arkansas in 1894 5
Achille Ferrari, aged 33, who immigrated to the United States from Pinzolo, in 1898

Ferrari Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Actun Ferrari, aged 8, who landed in America from S. Monte Dicima, in 1902
Albano Ferrari, aged 52, who landed in America from Montese, Italy, in 1905
Adelina Ferrari, aged 32, who immigrated to the United States from Turino, Italy, in 1907
Adriano Ferrari, aged 16, who landed in America from Gardolo, Italy, in 1908
Adone Ferrari, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States from Modella, Italy, in 1909
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Ferrari (post 1700) +

Albert R. Ferrari (1933-2016), American National Basketball Association player who played from 1955 to 1963
Francesco M. Ferrari, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1924
Elvera Ferrari, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Rhode Island, 1952
Francesco Ferrari (1946-2022), Italian politician who was appointed to the European Parliament on 5 July 2007 to replace Marta Vincenzi
Marco Virgilio Ferrari (1932-2020), Italian Roman Catholic titular bishop
Paolo Ferrari (1929-2018), Belgium-born, Italian actor who appeared in 45 films between 1938 and 2018
Sergio Ferrari (1943-2016), Italian professional footballer
Matteo Ferrari (b. 1979), Italian footballer
Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988), Italian racing car designer who founded Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer in 1929
Ermanno Wolf Ferrari (1876-1948), Italian composer
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Battista di Crollalanza, Giovanni, Dizionario Storico-Blasonico 3 vols. Pisa: Arnaldo Forini Editore, 1886. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
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)