Where the Fontana surname comes from
Fontana comes from the Latin fons, fontis, a spring. In the villages of the past, the fountain was the center of daily life: whoever lived next to it became, to everyone, “the one by the fountain.”
In other cases the surname comes from one of the many places with that name, like Fontanella or Fontanafredda. Scholars also mention a third path, tied to the symbolic value of the spring. The three theories are explained in the PDF.
A surname that built Rome
In the 1500s the architect Domenico Fontana received from Pope Sixtus V a task that seemed impossible: moving the obelisk of Saint Peter’s. In the same century, in Bologna, a woman named Fontana made history in painting with a first. The PDF tells how the feat went, and who she was.
Where the Fontanas live today
Fontana is a surname found all over Italy, but it is more common in the North. There are about 18,100 families in Italy, mostly in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. The most surprising record, though, is in Sicily: in Gibellina, in the province of Trapani, Fontana is the top surname. Beyond Italy, emigration from Veneto and Lombardy carried it far. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where the Fontanas settled are in the PDF.
Variants
Almost every region has its own form of the surname, born from the same spring. The PDF explains where each one comes from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Fontana | Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto |
| Fontanella | Campania, Lombardy, Veneto |
| Fontanesi | Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy |
| Fontanelli | Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna |
| Fontani | Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna |
| Fontanini | Tuscany, Friuli, Lombardy |
FAQ
What does the Fontana surname mean?
It comes from the Latin fons, “spring.” It marked someone who lived near the village fountain, or someone who came from one of the many places called Fontana.
Is Fontana a surname from the North or the South?
Both, but it is more common in the North: Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. It is also found in Sicily and Lazio, and the town where it is the top surname is Gibellina, in the province of Trapani.
Are Fontana and Fontanella the same surname?
They come from the same word, the spring. Fontanella is more common in Campania, Lombardy and Veneto. Until the 1800s the surname was written down by whoever kept the register: if you are searching for your ancestors, try every form.
Are all Fontanas related?
No. Every town had its fountain, and the surname was born on its own in hundreds of places. There are many Fontanas and they are almost never related to each other. To rebuild your own family history you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Fontana surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t mean nobility. Nearly all Fontana families were farmers, craftsmen and masons, who took their name from the spring near their home.
Is there a Fontana family coat of arms?
A coat of arms belonged to one specific branch of a family, in a specific place and time. A surname born in hundreds of towns can’t have just one: there is no coat of arms for all Fontanas.
Where was Domenico Fontana, the architect of the obelisk, born?
He was born in 1543 in Melide, on Lake Lugano, in the Ticino region of Switzerland. At twenty he went to Rome and became the architect of Pope Sixtus V. He ended his career in Naples.
