Angelo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

From the historical and fascinating Italian region of Venice emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Angelo family. People in this region were originally known by only a single name, but 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 began in Italy in the 10th and 11th centuries. Angelo is thought to have originally been a nickname for the first bearer of this surname. As a nickname, Angelo most likely described a person who was “angelic,” or perhaps a person who acted as some kind of religious messenger.

Early Origins of the Angelo family

The surname Angelo was first found in Treviso. anciently Tarvisium, a town in Venetia, capital of the province of Treviso. The cathedral of San Pietro is notable and dates back to 1141. It is classical style with seven domes with works by many notable painters and sculptors. The Piazza dei Signori has many palaces. In the 6th centaur this town was a seat of a Lombard duke. Charlemagne held it. Later it was Venetian. In those ancient times only persons of rank, the podesta, clergy, city officials, army officers, artists, landowners were entered into the records. To be recorded at this time, at the beginning of recorded history, was of itself a great distinction and indicative of noble ancestry.