Fortuni History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Italy

Etymology of Fortuni

From the historical and enchanting Italian region of Tuscany emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Fortuni 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 Fortuni 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 Fortuni family

Early History of the Fortuni family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fortuni research. The year 1746 is included under the topic Early Fortuni History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fortuni Spelling Variations

Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms in comparison with other European surnames because they reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each of which has its distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the most standard Italian surname suffix is "I", whereas in Southern Italy the most typical surname suffix is "O". Sardinian is very different from other forms of Italian and in fact, it is considered to be its own distinct language. Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes, church officials, and the bearers of names, spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. As a consequence of the major changes in the Italian language and in the local spellings of Italian surnames that occurred over the course of history, there are numerous variations for the surname Fortuni. These spelling variations include Fortuna, Fortuni, Infortuna, Fortunio, Fortugno, Fortunato, Fortunati and many more.

Early Notables of the Fortuni family

Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fortuni Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Fortuni family

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Fortuni were J. Fortune, who settled in San Francisco in 1852; M Fortuna, aged 23, landed in New Orleans, La in 1831; Peter Fortuna, who arrived in Savanna(h), Ga in 1856.