Where the Stango surname comes from
Stango is a place-name surname. It marked the family that came from somewhere called Stanga or La Stanga: “the one from the Stanga.” In old Italian a stanga was a long pole, a wooden bar. Many spots in the landscape closed off by a barrier were named after it.
Two heartlands far apart
The Stango surname has two heartlands, at opposite ends of Italy. One is around Foggia, at the foot of the Daunian Mountains. The other is around Alessandria, in Piedmont. The PDF tells why two branches so far apart carry the same name.
Where the Stangos live today
Stango is a very rare surname: about 140 people carry it in Italy. They are concentrated in Foggia, in Castelluccio Valmaggiore and around Alessandria. A few families live in Lombardy and Lazio, brought there by the migrations of the 1900s. Outside Italy there are many more Stangos. The PDF has the region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached.
FAQ
What does the surname Stango mean?
“The one from the Stanga.” It is a place-name surname: it marked the family that came from a place called Stanga or La Stanga. A stanga was a pole or a wooden bar.
Is Stango a surname from Apulia?
Yes, but not only there. It has two heartlands: one in Apulia, between Foggia and Castelluccio Valmaggiore, and one in Piedmont, around Alessandria. They are most likely two branches with separate roots.
Are all Stangos related?
No. Places called La Stanga existed in both the South and the North, and each could have given rise to a family. The Apulian and Piedmontese branches in particular have separate roots. To trace your own family’s story you need birth records and parish registers.
How many Stangos are there in Italy?
About 140 people. Worldwide there are just over seven hundred, and the largest group lives in the United States.
Is the Stango surname noble?
No. There is no record of a noble Stango family: they were village families from the Foggia and Alessandria areas, bound to their land. Their memory lives on in registers and papers, not in heraldry.
Is there a Stango family coat of arms?
There is no documented coat of arms for any Stango family. The coats of arms sold online with this surname have no basis in the archives.
Where should you look for Stango ancestors?
In Apulia, civil records begin around 1809; in Piedmont, around 1866. Before that, you search the parish registers, starting from your family’s exact town.
How do you find Stangos who emigrated abroad?
Officials abroad may have spelled the surname a little differently. In records from overseas, it’s worth trying similar spellings too. The Ellis Island records, in New York, often list the town of origin as well.
