Cognome

Fontana

The strongest concentration of Fontana in US arrival records points to Sicilia, with 191 of 588 arrivals (32 percent) originating there.

588

US arrivals
1830 to 1912

210

Comuni of
origin

19

Regioni
represented

168

Notable on
Wikipedia

Arrivals by regioneN = 588
Abruzzo: 17 arrivalsPuglia: 8 arrivalsBasilicata: 12 arrivalsCalabria: 35 arrivalsCampania: 78 arrivalsEmilia-Romagna: 17 arrivalsFriuli-Venezia Giulia: 3 arrivalsLazio: 85 arrivalsLiguria: 15 arrivalsLombardia: 30 arrivalsMarche: 4 arrivalsMolise: 19 arrivalsPiemonte: 24 arrivalsSardegna: 2 arrivalsSicilia: 191 arrivalsTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol: 3 arrivalsToscana: 32 arrivalsUmbria: 1 arrivalsVeneto: 12 arrivals

Top regione

Sicilia

191 of 588
32 percent of arrivals

Arrivals
0
< 6
6 to 19
19 to 57
57+

Cittadinanza per discendenza

Could your Fontana line qualify for Italian citizenship?

The largest share of Fontana arrivals came from Sicilia, most often from the provincia of Palermo. 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 Fontana from Sicilia

Most often from Palermo (PA)

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

19 regioni represented

  • Sicilia19132%
  • Lazio8514%
  • Campania7813%
  • Calabria356%
  • Toscana325%
  • Lombardia305%
  • Piemonte244%
  • Molise193%
  • Abruzzo173%
  • Emilia-Romagna173%
  • Liguria153%
  • Veneto122%
  • Basilicata122%
  • Puglia81%
  • Marche41%
  • Friuli-Venezia Giulia31%
  • Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol31%
  • Sardegna20%
  • Umbria10%

Origini per comune

Arrival records by comune

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

Persone notevoli

Notable Fontana 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

Fontanana

1 US arrivals

La fontana

1 US arrivals

Fontanna

3 US arrivals

Fontan

1 US arrivals

Fontanaro

2 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 Fontana.