A variety of distinguished and notable names have emerged from the beautiful and historical Italian region of
Tuscany, including the notable surname Gaitan. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany, who were originally known only by a single name, found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. This process of adopting fixed
hereditary surnames in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries, but it was not completed until the modern era. The development of Italian hereditary surnames followed general principles and were characterized by derivatives from one's given name. The
patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, was one of the most common name types found in the region of
Tuscany. This system of name-making was widely used because it linked well with the existing
Feudal System and during the Christian era, many people named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Gaitan came from the medieval given name Gaetano, which was originally a name from Caieta in Latium. According to tradition, the town was named after the elderly nurse of Aeneas, who died after fleeing with him from the ruins of Troy.
Early Origins of the Gaitan family
The surname Gaitan was first found in
Tuscany (Italian: Toscana), a region in central Italy.
Early History of the Gaitan family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gaitan research. More information is included under the topic Early Gaitan History in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gaitan Spelling Variations
Italian surnames come in far more variations than the names of most other nationalities. Regional traditions and dialects are a decisive factor in this characteristic. For example, northern names tend to end in "o", while southern in "i". Also important, but not unique to Italy, was the fact that before dictionaries and the printing press most scribes simply spelled words according to their sounds. The predictable result was an enormous number of
spelling variations. The recorded spellings of Gaitan include Gaeta, Gaita, De Gaita, Di Gaeta, Gaetani, Di Gaetano, Gaetano and many more.
Early Notables of the Gaitan family (pre 1700)
Prominent among members of the family was Giovanni-Baldo Gaeta, a priest from Pisa who held the position in 1466, 1475, 1488. Also at this time, the Gaeta family of Naples was officially recognized as nobility in the...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gaitan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Gaitan family to the New World and Oceana
In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Gaitan were found:
Gaitan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Hernando Gaitan, who landed in America in 1812 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Gaitan Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Guillin Gaitan, aged 17, who landed in America, in 1922
- Jorge Gaitan, aged 71, who emigrated to the United States, in 1924
- Candido Gaitan, aged 24, who emigrated to America, in 1924
Contemporary Notables of the name Gaitan (post 1700)
- Fernando J. Gaitan Jr (b. 1948), United States federal judge
- Ricardo Sala Gaitan, Colombian industrial engineer and politician
- Héctor Luis Gaitan (b. 1987), Argentine football defender
- Paulina Gaitan (b. 1992), Mexican actress
- Fernando Gaitan (b. 1960), Colombian TV series and telenovelas screenwriter
- Walter Nicolás Gaitan (b. 1977), Argentine footballer
- Martín Gaitan (b. 1978), Argentine rugby union footballer
- Osvaldo Nicolás Fabián Gaitan (b. 1988), Argentine footballer