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Where did the Italian Gallo family come from? What is the Italian Gallo family crest and coat of arms? When did the Gallo family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the Gallo family history?From the historical and enchanting Italian region of Tuscany emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Gallo 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 Gallo is a name for a person with some of the attributes associated with a bird, such as a fine voice or sexual prowess. The name, which was also very popular in Spain during the Middle Ages, is derived from the Latin word Gallus which means rooster.
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 Gallo include Galli, Gallo, Gall, Gallis, Gallelli, Gallello, Galletti, Galigai, Gallico, Galelei, Galladei, Galeota, Galizzi, Gallego, Gallini, Gallino, Gallucci, Galluccio, Galluzzi, Gallus, Galliussi, Gallozzi, Gallotti, Galloni, Gallone, Gallarini and many more.
First found in northern Italy which today incorporates the provinces of Cremona, Brescia, Pisa and the city of Florence. The earliest records of the surname Gallo date back to Florence, where the Galigai family can be traced to 1039.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gallo research. Another 29 words(2 lines of text) covering the years 1497, 1381, 1528, 1576, 1624, 1595, 1671, 1510, 1540, 1564, 1590, 1636, 1714, 1737, 1850 and 1868 are included under the topic Early Gallo History in all our PDF Extended History products.
Another 599 words(43 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gallo Notables in all our PDF Extended History products.
In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Gallo were found:
Gallo Settlers in the United States in the 18th Century
Gallo Settlers in the United States in the 19th Century
Gallo Settlers in the United States in the 20th Century
The Gallo Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Gallo Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.
This page was last modified on 26 September 2013 at 12:12.
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