Antica famiglia, originaria della Spagna, che fiorì in Roma, Cremona e poi in Messina, nei secoli XIV e XV. Tale cognominizzazione, dovrebbe derivare dal cognomen latino “Cervius”. In un’antica lapide romana si legge, infatti: “Quintus Cervius Quinti libertus Fidelis vivus fecit sibi”. In una pergamena conservata in Bergamo, poi, possiamo leggere: “…ad banchum iuris sapientis viri dom. Peterzoli de Cervis de Cremona…”. Questa famiglia, inoltre, a dir dell’Amayden, era sicuramente comprese tra quelle raccolte nel Libro d’oro del Campidoglio. Dalla bibliografia documentata sui manoscritti della Vaticana può rilevarsi il numero relativamente esiguo delle memorie riguardanti le famiglie romane, se si tralasciano le fonti sospette del Ceccarelli, del Fanusio, del Metallino le cui favole furono in parte accettate dal Iacovacci. Constatando che non esiste un Nobiliario romano, ma trovasi nell’Archivio Segreto della Santa Sede un imponente volume dal titolo “famiglie ascritte al libro d’oro del Campidoglio”. Infatti il libro è andato perduto a causa della malevola azione del tempo, ma, in base all’elenco datoci da Benedetto XIV nella sua costituzione Urbem Roman del gennaio 1746, Pio IX, il 2 maggio 1853, ordinò la rinnovazione del Libro d’Oro, fatto per cura di una congregazione araldica capitolina. L’elenco delle famiglie ascritte al Libro d’Oro conservato nell’Archivio Vaticano, è molto esteso perché abbraccia anche le famiglie patrizie estintesi da secoli. La famiglia ebbe nobiltà riconosciuta tra il 1600 e il 1700 anno in cui Teodoro Amayden eseguì le sue ricerche e compose ” Ragguaglio di tutte le nobiltà delle famiglie antiche et moderne di Roma… et famiglie straniere. Fondo Vaticano n.7957, fol. 58″. . Riguardo a questo cognome abbiamo ritrovato ulteriori informazioni storiche in altri archivi. Purtroppo in lingua originale Inglese. : This Last Name CERVO was a French nickname from the stag, primarily extrapolated from the Old French word CERF (rendered in early documents in the Latin form CERVUS) and it was given with reference to the presumed lustiness of the creature, or conversely to the horns supposed to be a sign of a cuckhold. The notion of the cuckold growing horns is attested from late antiquity and is found in most European languages; the best guess at its origin lies in the fact of the outward symbols of virility. Surnames having a derivation from nicknames form the broadest and most miscellaneous class of last names, encompassing many different types of origin. The most typical classes refer adjectivally to the general physical aspect of the person concerned, or to his character. Many nicknames refer to a man’s size or height, while others make reference to a favoured article of clothing or style of dress. Many last names extrapolated from the names of animals and birds. In the Middle Ages ideas were held about the characters of other living creatures, based on observation, and these associations were reflected and reinforced by large bodies of folk tales featuring animals behaving as humans. The earliest French hereditary last names are found in the 12th century, at more or less the same time as they arose in England, but they are by no means common before the 13th century, and it was not until the 15th century that they stabilized to any great extent; before then a Last Name might be handed down for two or three generations, but then abandoned in favour of another. In the south, many French last names have come in from Italy over the centuries, and in Northern France, Germanic influence can frequently be detected. The name was also a Jewish Last Name adopted because of the connection of the deer with the Hebrew given name NAFTALI, which extrapolated from the blessing of Jacob by his sons in which Naftali is referred to as ‘a hind let loose’. In many parts of central and western Europe, hereditary last names started to become stable at around the 12th century, and have developed and modified slowly over the years. As society became more complicated, and such matters as the management of tenure, and in particular the collection of taxes were delegated to unique functionaries, it became imperative to distinguish a more complicated system of nomenclature to differentiate one individual from another….
Noble title: Nobili
Coat of arms: D’azzurro, al cervo passante d’oro…