Show ContentsCavallo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Cavallo

What does the name Cavallo mean?

The origins the old family name Cavallo can be found within medieval Spain. While the patronymic and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the name of the father and mother respectively, are the most common form of a hereditary surname in Spain, occupational surnames also emerged during the late Middle Ages. Many people, such as the Cavallo family, adopted the name of their occupation as their surname. The surname Cavallo was an occupational name for a knight or a knight's servant.

Early Origins of the Cavallo family

The surname Cavallo was first found in Castile, an important Christian kingdom of medieval Spain.

Early History of the Cavallo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cavallo research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1176, 1535, 1560, 1572, 1644, 1645, 1656, 1670, 1679, 1697, 1703, 1704, 1707, 1740, 1800, 1816, 1829, 1839, 1862, 1876, 1880, 1886 and 1912 are included under the topic Early Cavallo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cavallo Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Caballero, Caballeros, Caballer, Caballé, Caballe, Caballería, Caballeria, Caballo, Caballos, de Caballos, Cavallo, Cavallos, de Cavallos, Cavallón, Cavallon, de Cavallón, de Cavallon, Cavallero, Cavallería and many more.

Early Notables of the Cavallo family

Prominent among members of the family Francisco Cevallos, Spanish composer, active from 1535 to 1572 and was canon and musical director of the cathedral at Burgos. Among his compositions scattered throughout Spain, may be mentioned a fine mass in the church 'Del Pilar' at Saragossa, and a motet 'Inter vestibulum' in Eslava's Lira Sacra Hispaña. 1 Other early notables include: Pedro Rodríguez Cubero (1656-1704), a Spanish admiral, Governor of New Mexico between 1697 and 1703; Pedro Cubero Sebastián (1645-c.1697), a Spanish priest, best known for his travel around the world from 1670 to 1679. Fermín Caballero y Morgáez (1800-1876) was a Spanish geographer...
Another 110 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cavallo Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cavallo Ranking

In the United States, the name Cavallo is the 10,113rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Cavallo is ranked the 8,089th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Cavallo family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Juan de Cavallón, who voyaged to America in the 1500s. He claimed the territory of Costa Rica for the Spanish Crown, and died in Mexico in 1565. Other early migrants to the New World bearing this surname or a variant spelling of the name included Gutierre de Caballos, who sailed to America in 1512.


Contemporary Notables of the name Cavallo (post 1700) +

  • James "Jimmy" Cavallo (1927-2019), American musician best known for performing with his band in the 1956 movie, Rock, Rock, Rock
  • Rufus P. Cavallo, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1952 4
  • Michael Cavallo, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 1932 (alternate), 1940; Mayor of Lodi, New Jersey, 1937 4
  • Michael Cavallo, American Republican politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly, 1919, 1932 4
  • Giulio A. Cavallo, American politician, Representative from New York 18th District, 1998 4
  • Franco Cavallo (1932-2022), Italian Olympic bronze medalist sailor in the Star class at the 1968 Summer Olympics
  • Tiberius Cavallo (1749-1809), Italian natural philosopher, born in Naples in 1749, his father being a physician practising in that city 5


  1. Grove, Sir George, A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (AD. 1450-1889) London: Macmillan1902, Print, 2 Vols
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 25 Nov. 2019


Houseofnames.com on Facebook