How do i find the meaning of my last name?

Question

My grandparents died when my father was young and all of his other relatives live in Italy, we wanted to know what our last name means and what it originated From, the name is Pollastro, and we know my grandfathers family was from Maddaloni

Answer 1

Surname: Pollastro

This unusual and interesting surname with variant forms Pollastro, Pollastrino, Pollastrini and Pollastrella, derives from the Italian "Pollastro", a cockerel, and was originally given as a nickname to one though to bear a fancied resemblance to the bird. Surnames derived from given names and from nicknames are the most widespread surname type in Italy and the "i" ending is characteristic or northern Italy, whereas a final "o" is more widespread in southern states. Italian recordings include the marriage of Girolamo Pollastro and Anastasia Farian on July 29th 1820 in Caserta, and the baptism of Guiseppina Pollastrini in Gragnano, Lucca, on November 23rd 1878. A coat of Arms granted to a Pollastron family resident in the south of France depicts a black lion rampant on a silver field. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Polastron, Langudeoc, (Southern France), which was dated circa 1680 - Rietstap's Armorial General, during the reign of King Leopold 1, known as "Holy Roman Emperor", 1658 - 1705. 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.

http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na...

and here's a google book called Our Italian Surnames

http://books.google.com/books?id=Qmg6Dfz...

Answer 2

As Italian I can just confirm the previous answer (good search). There are still many many Pollastro in Maddaloni. Including a central bar,  belonging to a Pollastro Antonio address Via liberta', 81024,Maddaloni (CE) whose telephone is on the net (google Pollastro and Maddaloni: you'll find it and a couple of hundred matches).

You may have all address and phone numbers using the web service paginebianche.it : input CE in the town/province field (is the province of Maddaloni) or Maddaloni and Pollastro in the name field