Ferrari History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Italy
• Portugal

Etymology of Ferrari

Venice, 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 Ferrari. 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 are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most common type of family name found in Venice 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 than 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 Ferrari comes from the Latin word ferro which means iron. The family likely were blacksmiths.

Early Origins of the Ferrari family

Early History of the Ferrari family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ferrari research. The years 1471, 1480, 1499, 1508, 1530, 1546, 1584, 1603, 1653, 1655, 1662, 1681, 1850 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Ferrari History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ferrari Spelling Variations

Enormous variation in spelling and form characterizes those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. This is caused by two main factors: regional tradition, and inaccuracies in the recording process. Before the last few hundred years, scribes spelled names according to their sounds. Spelling variations were the unsurprising result. The variations of Ferrari include Ferraro, Ferrari, Ferrario, Ferraris, Ferrai, Ferrero, Ferrarese, Ferreri, Ferrèri, Ferreli, Ferriero, Ferrieri, Ferrerio, Fevrero, Fevriero, Ferrer, Fer, Ferr, Fare, De Ferrari, Deferrari, Defferrari, De Ferraris, Ferrarello, Ferraretto, Ferrarini, Ferrarin, Ferrarotti, Ferrarone, Ferraron and many more.

Early Notables of the Ferrari family

Prominent among members of the family was

• Giovanni Matteo Ferrari, a doctor in Grado and the court physician to Francesco Sforza
• Bartolomeo Ferrari was an ecclesiastic in Milan who studied law before dedicating his life to the church in 1499
• Lodovico Ferrari was a famous mathematician in Bologna in 1530
• Benedetto Ferrari of Reggio (1603-1681) was a composer and in 1653 to 1662 was maestro of the chapel to the Duke of Modena
• Giovanni Baptista 1 Ferrari (1584-1655), an Italian Jesuit and professor in Rome, a botanist, and an author of illustrated botanical books and a Latin-Syrian dictionary
• Carlo Ferrari of Piacenza was a famous cellist and composed many sonatas and quartets during the early 18th century
• Domenico Ferrari, also of Piacenza at this time, was an internationally renowned violinist and published 6 sets of violin sonatas
• Carletta Ferrari of Lodi, was a famous woman composer around 1850
• Gabriella Ferrari, a pianist and composer at this time

Ferrari World Ranking

In the United States, the name Ferrari is the 4,477^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Ferrari is ranked the 830^th most popular surname with an estimated 6,174 people with that name. 3 And in South America, the name Ferrari is the 36^th popular surname with an estimated 99 people with that name. 4