Montano History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Italy
• Spain

Etymology of Montano

From the ancient and picturesque Italian region of Venice emerged a variety of distinguished names, including the notable surname Montano. 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 traditional type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, local surnames are also found. Local names, which are the least frequent of the major types of surnames found in Italy, are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, but does not necessarily denote nobility. The Montano family lived on a mountain or near a mountainous area. The name Montagna is derived from the Italian word montagna or montano, which means a mountain. Sometimes the name was used for someone who came from Montagna.

Early Origins of the Montano family

Early History of the Montano family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Montano research. The years 1406, 1440, 1450, 1523, 1608, 1633 and 1687 are included under the topic Early Montano History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Montano Spelling Variations

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 Montano include Montagnano, Montagnini, Montagnoni, Montan, Montanari, Montanarini, Montanaro, Montanelli, Montani, Montano, Montana, Montagnino and many more.

Early Notables of the Montano family

Prominent among members of the family was Bartolomeo Montagna (1450-1523), an Italian painter and architect who worked in Vicenza and Venice, and founder of the school of Vicenza, with works able to be seen today in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and frescoes in the Church of Santi Nazaro e Celso in Verona; Geminiano Montanari (1633-1687), Italian astronomer and lens-maker, eponym of the Montanari...
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Montano Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Montano Ranking

In the United States, the name Montano is the 1,647^th most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 1