| ![Show Contents]() Fortunato 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 Fortunato 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 Fortunato is a name for a person of happy nature, good fortune and favorable destiny. This surname is derived from the Latin personal name Fortunatus, which means happy, chance, or luck. The Latin name was fashionable among early Christians, chosen to illustrate their joy in the faith. It was borne by a large number of early saints, which further increased its popularity as a given name in the Middle Ages. Early Origins of the Fortunato familyThe surname Fortunato was first found in the town of Volterra where Gianfranco Fortunio was a humanist and grammarian. He is famous for his work on Italian grammar and many of his theories and methods are used today by grammarians. Early History of the Fortunato familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fortunato research. The year 1746 is included under the topic Early Fortunato History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Fortunato Spelling VariationsThere 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 Fortunato are Fortuna, Fortuni, Infortuna, Fortunio, Fortugno, Fortunato, Fortunati and many more. Early Notables of the Fortunato familyAnother 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fortunato Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Fortunato RankingIn the United States, the name Fortunato is the 8,574th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
 Fortunato migration to the United States | + |
The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Fortunato:
Fortunato Settlers in United States in the 20th Century- Andrew Fortunato, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States, in 1905
- Agostino Fortunato, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States from Arena, Italy South, in 1906
- Angela Fortunato, aged 23, who landed in America from Picerno, Italy, in 1907
- Andrea Fortunato, aged 22, who settled in America from Casamassini, Italy, in 1910
- Alessandro Fortunato, aged 30, who immigrated to America from Polliano, Salerno, Italy, in 1911
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Contemporary Notables of the name Fortunato (post 1700) | + |
- D'Anna Fortunato (b. 1945), American mezzo-soprano
- Ron Fortunato, American Primetime Emmy Award nominated film and television cinematographer
- Joseph Francis Fortunato (b. 1930), former American football linebacker in the National Football League
- Giuliano Fortunato (1940-2022), Italian professional footballer who played as a forward and made 203 appearances scoring 34 goals
- Jacopo Fortunato (b. 1990), Italian footballer
- Andrea Fortunato (1971-1995), Italian football player
- Daniele Fortunato (b. 1963), Italian professional football coach and a former player
- Mario Francisco Fortunato (1904-1970), Argentine football player and manager
- René Antonio Fortunato (b. 1958), Dominican Republic film director, screenwriter
- Bartolomé Araujo Fortunato (b. 1974), Dominican Republic Major League Baseball pitcher
| Historic Events for the Fortunato family | + |
- Mr. Vincenzo Fortunato (1883-1914), Italian Bucker from Ofena, L'Aquila, Italy who worked in the Hillcrest Coal Mine, Alberta, Canada and died in the mine collapse 2
- Mr. Luigi Fortunato (1889-1914), Italian Bucker from Ofena, L'Aquila, Italy who worked in the Hillcrest Coal Mine, Alberta, Canada and died in the mine collapse 2
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Fortunato migration to the United States 
