Giordano

This interesting surname is of Italian origin, and derives from the male given name Jordan, which takes the form of Giordana in Italy. The baptismal name is taken from the name of the river Jordan, Hebrew "Yarden", from "yarad", to go down, descend, i.e. to the Dead Sea. At the time of the Crusades it was common practice for crusaders and pilgrims to bring back flasks of water from the river in which John the Baptist had baptized people, including Christ himself, and to use it in the christening of their own children. Thus Jordan, and all its other forms, became quite a popular given name in commemoration of this. Recordings of the surname include: Pietra, son of Giacon Giordana, who was born in 1599 at Torre Pellice, Torino, Italy; Tommasa, son of Giordana and Lucia Giordano, who was born on December 30th 1628 at Savigliano, Cuneo, Italy; and Gennaro Giordano, who married Sarah Littlewood on February 9th 1796 at St. Mary's Marylebone Road, London. A Coat of Arms granted to the Giordano family of Naples depicts a red fess charged with three gold mullets, in chief a black double headed eagle, winged red, charged on the breast with a silver cross on a silver field, in base two green trees on a green mount on a blue field. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Giacom Giordano, which was dated 1567, born at Torre Pellice, Torino, Italy, during the reign of Maximilian 11, "Habsburg Emperor", 1564 - 1576. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.