Show ContentsMassarotti History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Tuscany, 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 Massarotti. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt 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; 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 Tuscany 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 that 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 Massarotti is a name for a person who worked on a farm as a manager deriving its origin from the ancient Italian word massaio.

Early Origins of the Massarotti family

The surname Massarotti was first found in the town of Lucca. Records are found in 1285 with Mazzeo di Gerardo Mazzei, mayor of the Commune of Pietrasanta.

Early History of the Massarotti family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Massarotti research. The years 1439, 1450, 1516, 1526, 1569, 1633, 1653, 1687, 1723, 1730, 1766 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Massarotti History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Massarotti Spelling Variations

There 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 Massarotti are Massari, Massaro, Amassari, Massai, Massarelli, Massarini, Massarino, Massarin, Massaroli, Massarolli, Massariolo, Massarotti, Massarotto, Massarutti, Massarutto, Massarut, Massardo, Massarente, Massarenti, Massiani, Massei and many more.

Early Notables of the Massarotti family

Prominent among members of the family was

  • Angelo Massarotti (1653-1723) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in his native Cremona


United States Massarotti migration to the United States +

The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Massarotti:

Massarotti Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Rocco Massarotti, aged 24, originally from Roccaramanico, Italy, arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "France" from LE HAVRE 1
  • Pasqua Massarotti, aged 62, originally from Roccamorico, Italy, arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "America" from Napoli, Italy 1


  1. Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result


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