Massara History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Italy

Etymology of Massara

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 Massara. 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 Massara 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 Massara family

Early History of the Massara family

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

Massara 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 Massara 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 Massara family

Prominent among members of the family was Apollonio Massiani, Bishop of Savona in 1439. Antonio del Massaro (1450-1516), was an Italian painter. Virginio Massiani was a Captain in Siena in 1526. Nicol di Pietro Massei was a military Captain in Lucca under Cosimo I and was prominent in the battle against Siena. Count Milan Massari received his noble title from the Pope for his value to the society; of this same family, Galeozzo Massari was honoured with the title...
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Massara Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Massara family

The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Massara: Giacomo Massiano, who sailed on the S.S. Olympia from Naples, arriving at the Port of New York on 25 July 1896; Giuseppe Massio, who arrived in New York City aboard the Orsola March 8, 1882.