Cognome

Terranova

The strongest concentration of Terranova in US arrival records points to Sicilia, with 158 of 253 arrivals (62 percent) originating there.

253

US arrivals
1830 to 1912

90

Comuni of
origin

11

Regioni
represented

16

Notable on
Wikipedia

Arrivals by regioneN = 253
Abruzzo: 5 arrivalsBasilicata: 6 arrivalsCalabria: 44 arrivalsCampania: 14 arrivalsLazio: 3 arrivalsLiguria: 1 arrivalsMolise: 19 arrivalsPiemonte: 1 arrivalsSicilia: 158 arrivalsUmbria: 1 arrivalsVeneto: 1 arrivals

Top regione

Sicilia

158 of 253
62 percent of arrivals

Arrivals
0
< 5
5 to 16
16 to 47
47+

Cittadinanza per discendenza

Could your Terranova line qualify for Italian citizenship?

The largest share of Terranova 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 Terranova 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

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Distribuzione per regione

Concentration by regione

11 regioni represented

  • Sicilia15862%
  • Calabria4417%
  • Molise198%
  • Campania146%
  • Basilicata62%
  • Abruzzo52%
  • Lazio31%
  • Liguria10%
  • Piemonte10%
  • Umbria10%
  • Veneto10%

Origini per comune

Arrival records by comune

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

Persone notevoli

Notable Terranova 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

Teranova

4 US arrivals

Terranovo

3 US arrivals

Terranove

1 US arrivals

Terrano

40 US arrivals

Cerranova

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 Terranova.