What is "quaranta"

Quaranta (forty in Italian). The Quaranta family is an ancient and noble Italian family, with its origin in Scandinavia, established at the end of the 11th century in the district of Salerno. This surname now has roots that spread all over the world. When researching the Quaranta name, several different variations of the name can be found. Language changes and carelessness contributed to this, as did high instances of illiteracy contributed to the numbers of ways a name may have been spelled and articulated. Many times a town clerk would spell names the way they sounded. Because of this, surname dictionaries list such spelling variations as Quarantelli, Quaranti, Quatanto, Quarantas, Quartarara, Quaranto, and Quartararo which all stem from the root surname Quaranta.

The first evidence of this family's existence in America is verified by the " Italians in America", which notes that Salvatore and Commaso Quaranta arrived at New York City's Ellis Island on December 14, 1880 aboard the "Italia", which sailed from Marseilles, Naples, and Palermo. There is a possibility, however, that the name Quaranta could have been introduced in America at an earlier date.