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.
The surname Gaitan was first found in Tuscany (Italian: Toscana), a region in central Italy.
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.
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.
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.
In the United States, the name Gaitan is the 5,996th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [1]
In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Gaitan were found: