TerraNova
An Italian surname meaning “new land” or “new terrain,” often tied to place-names or local origin.
The #9,884 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,389 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Terranova is built from Italian terra, meaning “land” or “earth,” and nuova, meaning “new.” As a surname, it most likely began as a locational name for someone from a place called Terranova or from a newly settled area. The same elements also appear widely in Italian and Sicilian place-names.
History
The name is especially associated with Italy, and it is common in southern Italian and Sicilian surname traditions. Because Terranova is also the name of several towns and localities, the surname may have arisen independently in more than one place. In immigrant records, it often appears with the standard Italian spelling, though capitalization may vary in modern usage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Terranova is also the name of several Italian places, so the surname can sometimes point to a specific hometown rather than just a descriptive meaning.
From the historical record
“Novi, Como, Villalonga, Lodi, Marengo, Rivoli, Montebello, Areola, Solferino, Magenta, Lucca, Taranto, Brindisi, Bres- cia, Casanova, - Elba, Li pari, - Terranova, Ragusa, Cefalu, Geraci, Cerda, Tivoli, - Catania, Messina, Campobello, Taor- mina, Termini, Nicosia. Bronte, Palma, Palermo, Marsala, Eufemia, Siracusa…”
— A Grammar of American Surnames