My great grandmothers last name was
DeSantis (you pronounce the 2nd
S silent) and she was born and married in Frosinone, Lazio and its of
Italian origin. When i seen your name "DiSanto" i instantly thought it was the same name but just a different variation of how you spell it, so i checked the De Santis variations and yours isnt there. Heres what i found out about the
DiSanto family:
From the historical and enchanting region of
Spain emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Disanto family. Originally, the Spanish people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in Spain is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Disanto is a nickname type of surname for a person who was born on All Saint's Day. In the medieval chronicles, the name was originally recorded in the Latin form Sanctorum. First found in
Castile, predominant among the Christian kingdoms of medieval Spain. Spelling variations of this family name include: disanto, Santos,
Santo, Santero, Dossantos, Di Santo and many more.
DiSanto Coat of Arms:
http://www.coats-of-arms.com/DiSanto%20 ... 20arms.jpg
ALSO, i found this (Italian)
http://www.thetreemaker.com/coats/Di_Santo-Italy.jpg
Here is the
DeSantis family origin:
First found in northern Italy, particularly in the regions of
Piedmont, Lombardy and Tuscany. The surname Desantis is patronymic in origin, meaning it was based on the first name of a forefather. In this case, Desantis is derived from the Latin word "sanctus," meaning "holy" or "devout," thus the original bearer of the name was known to be a holy and devout person. Spelling variations of this family name include: De Santi, De Santis,
Santo, Santucci, Santino, De Sanctis and many more.
DeSantis Coat of Arms:
http://www.thetreemaker.com/coats/DeSantis-Italy.jpg
I noticed the surname "
Santo" is related and is from Italian or Spanish origin, but they're different families, different Coat of Arms. I thought this was interesting, according to this the DiSanto family is not Italian... Maybe the Spainards back in the day that were part of the Roman Empire formed a colony in Italy and vice-versa in Spain?