The distinguished surname Mercurio can be traced back to the ancient and beautiful region of Venice. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt 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, 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. The most common type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name. During the Middle Ages, Italians adopted the patronymic system of name-making because it perfectly complemented the prevailing Feudal System. In Italy the popularity of patronymic type of surname is also due to the fact that during the Christian era, people often named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Mercurio came from the Latin name Mercurius, which means messenger of the gods.
The surname Mercurio was first found in the town of Forli
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In comparison with other European surnames, Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms. They reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each with its own distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the typical Italian surname suffix is "i", whereas in Southern Italy it is "o". Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. The spelling variations in the name Mercurio include Mercurio, Mercuriali, Mercuri, Mercorio, Mercuro and many more.
Prominent among members of the family was Geronimo Mercuriali (1530-1606), an Italian philologist and physician, most famous for his work De Arte Gymnastica; Girolamo Mercuriali, a nobleman from Forlì who was a doctor to Popes Gregorio XIII and...
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Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Mercurio: