Cognome

Ferrara

The strongest concentration of Ferrara in US arrival records points to Campania, with 602 of 1,866 arrivals (32 percent) originating there.

1,866

US arrivals
1830 to 1912

481

Comuni of
origin

17

Regioni
represented

90

Notable on
Wikipedia

Arrivals by regioneN = 1,866
Abruzzo: 144 arrivalsPuglia: 85 arrivalsBasilicata: 112 arrivalsCalabria: 132 arrivalsCampania: 602 arrivalsEmilia-Romagna: 7 arrivalsFriuli-Venezia Giulia: 1 arrivalsLazio: 44 arrivalsLiguria: 10 arrivalsLombardia: 17 arrivalsMarche: 3 arrivalsMolise: 65 arrivalsPiemonte: 59 arrivalsSicilia: 574 arrivalsToscana: 6 arrivalsUmbria: 1 arrivalsVeneto: 4 arrivals

Top regione

Campania

602 of 1,866
32 percent of arrivals

Arrivals
0
< 18
18 to 60
60 to 181
181+

Cittadinanza per discendenza

Could your Ferrara line qualify for Italian citizenship?

The largest share of Ferrara arrivals came from Campania, most often from the provincia of Salerno. If one of them is your ancestor, Italy may recognize you as a citizen under jure sanguinis (citizenship by descent).

The surname alone does not decide it. Each generation between that ancestor and you does: who naturalized, and when. Since the 2025 law, the number of generations matters too.

The checker goes back through your line one generation at a time. It is not legal advice, and it does not search for records.

Check your line
Your lineYou fill this in

Italian-born ancestor

A Ferrara from Campania

Most often from Salerno (SA)

Each generation between

Name and dates

Did this person naturalize before their child was born?

You

A likely outcome

and the documents your line would need

Not ready to start? Get an email when the citizenship rules change.

Distribuzione per regione

Concentration by regione

17 regioni represented

  • Campania60232%
  • Sicilia57431%
  • Abruzzo1448%
  • Calabria1327%
  • Basilicata1126%
  • Puglia855%
  • Molise653%
  • Piemonte593%
  • Lazio442%
  • Lombardia171%
  • Liguria101%
  • Emilia-Romagna70%
  • Toscana60%
  • Veneto40%
  • Marche30%
  • Friuli-Venezia Giulia10%
  • Umbria10%

Origini per comune

Arrival records by comune

Each row is a comune (municipality) where at least one passenger named Ferrara was recorded between 1830 and 1912.

Persone notevoli

Notable Ferrara on Wikipedia

Varianti grafiche

Spelling variants worth checking

  • The spelling you know may not be the one in the records. For example, a family remembers Mansini, but the records read Mancini.
  • If your spelling does not appear, a close variant in the list below may be the same family.

Related guide

Myths About Name Changes at Ellis Island

Names were never changed at the border. The spelling here is the original Italian: Giovinelli in the records, perhaps Jovanelli in the family today.

Read guide

Ferrrara

1 US arrivals

Ferrarra

2 US arrivals

Ferra

44 US arrivals

La ferrara

9 US arrivals

De ferrara

5 US arrivals

Variants are surfaced from the surname index, not from per-name research. None of these is guaranteed to be the same family as Ferrara.