Ancestry Magazine

To pick up the paper trail of your Italian family on the other side of the Atlantic, you must know the name of your immigrant ancestor. Could anything be more self-evident? But learning that single piece of information may pose an unexpected challenge. Surnames have changed over the centuries. Some Italians were known by nicknames. Others used detti, or family nicknames. Still others went by patronymics. Here are a few cultural considerations to keep in mind as you search for your Italian ancestor’s name.

Surname Changes
Many Italian surnames have been transformed in the United States—shortened, spelled differently, changed completely. Reasons for these name transformations, and the stories passed on from generation to generation about them, are myriad. Whatever family name you may use today, to pursue your research in Italian records you will have to learn what your immigrant ancestor’s original surname was. And do not be surprised to find the surname spelled two, three, or more ways in old documents. Only since the twentieth century has the orthography (spelling) of surnames been rigidly fixed.

To learn the possible origin and variant spellings of your family name, consult a dictionary of Italian surnames, such as Emidio DeFelice’s Dizionario dei Cognomi Italiani (Dictionary of Italian Surnames) or Joseph G. Fucilla’s Our Italian Surnames. These books suggest the geographic area in Italy where each name and its antecedents were derived, and they indicate where the name is concentrated today. If you have not yet discovered your ancestors’ native town, this information will narrow your focus to a particular province or region.

The etymology of your surname (how it developed) also hints at where your family research may ultimately lead. People of many national origins compose the population of modern-day Italy. For example, Colletta may derive from the Greek word nike, meaning victory, and the Italian diminutive suffix etta, signifying little—hence, “little victory.” The name is concentrated in southern Italy and Sicily, where Greek colonies thrived in the ancient world.

However, onomatology (the study of the origin and development of proper names) is an artful science, and surname dictionaries sometimes propose different interpretations of the same name. For example, the Italian word colletta also happens to be a common noun meaning “collection.” Furthermore, colle means “hill,” which makes colletta “little hill.”

Taking note of surnames that vary only slightly from yours may lead to the possible original or variant spellings of your own name. Cecati, for instance, may have changed to Checati in the United States, because in Italian “ce” is pronounced “che.” But in earlier centuries the name may have been Cecato, Cecate, or Cecata, derived from cecità meaning blindness. The American genealogist named Checati who has not consulted a surname dictionary might miss the possible link between his own ancestors and the Cecato individuals he keeps coming across in old Italian records.

Naming Children
It is also important to know your immigrant ancestor’s given name or names. Since at least the sixteenth century, tradition has dictated how Italian parents name their children. A couple’s first son is given the name of the father’s father; the first daughter is given the name of the father’s mother. The second son is given the name of the mother’s father; the second daughter is given the name of the mother’s mother. Subsequent children are given their parents’ names, or the names of favorite or unmarried or deceased aunts and uncles. Because of this custom, the same given names reappear in Italian families generation after generation.

Knowing the birth order of siblings, therefore, often provides a clue to the names of their grandp arents. Be aware, however, that exceptions do occur. A grandfather might suggest, for example, that the grandson about to be given his name be baptized instead with the name of a son of his who died in infancy many years earlier. This is common when no other member of the family bears the name of that deceased infant. Such a wish would be honored, and a subsequent grandson would be given this grandfather’s name. Or a grandmother may ask that the granddaughter to be named for her be given instead the name of a saint to whom she holds a special devotion. In this case, a subsequent granddaughter would be given this grandmother’s name.

Carrying this tradition over to America caused dilemmas for first-generation Americans. If the grandmother was Crucifissa, for instance, which means Crucifix, the granddaughter might be baptized Christine. If the grandfather was Rosario (Rosary), the grandson might be called Russell. Why Vincenzo, which translates as Vincent, became James is an issue of speculation among Americans of Italian descent.

To be certain that you are tracing your immigrant ancestor and not a same-named cousin, learn two more facts: 1) the approximate year of his or her emigration from Italy, and 2) his or her approximate age at that time. These additional facts will distinguish your ancestor from relatives having the same given name and surname.

Nicknames
Many Italians brought with them to America the custom of calling one another by nicknames. Usually the nickname was an altered form of the given name. For instance, Pepina is short for Giuseppina, which in turn is a diminutive or affectionate form of Giuseppa (Josephine). Therefore, Pepina might be translated as Jo, and Giuseppina as Josie. Giovannino, the diminutive form of Giovanni (John), may be translated as Johnny. Antonino (Tony) is short for Antonio (Anthony). However, both Giovannino and Antonino might be called simply Nino.

Sometimes the nickname had nothing to do with the give n name. My Uncle Tony, for example, was baptized Giovanni. But after his father Antonio died, his mother wanted to keep the name Antonio in the family. So she called her son Antonio rather than Giovanni, and the name stuck. Uncle Tony never did use his given name.

My Great-great-grandfather Ignazio Colletta was known as “il Mariul,” a Sicilian pronunciation of the Italian word mariolo, meaning Jew’s harp. Family lore has it that the man liked to play that simple musical instrument. Everyone in town called him “il Mariul.” Interestingly, though, mariolo also means rogue or knave, so Iganzio Colletta’s nickname contains a sly double entendre, as many Italian nicknames did.

Jewish Patronymics and Surnames
Americans researching Italian ancestors who were Jewish have other name issues to consider. Some Jews in Italy adopted hereditary surnames along with their non-Jewish neighbors as early as the tenth and eleventh centuries (making them the first in Europe to do so). Normally, they either translated their Hebrew name or assumed the name of their place of origin. Other Italian Jews, however, continued to practice the ancient custom of patronymics, whereby an individual was identified by his or her given name and the given name of his or her father—Samuel ben Jacob, for example (Samuel, son of Jacob), or Sarah bar Benjamin (Sarah, daughter of Benjamin).

How did record keepers distinguish between two Jews with identical names and patronymics? By appending the name of their town to their name, such as “Isaac ben Abraham of Turin” and “Isaac ben Abraham of Novara.”

In the late eighteenth century, Napoleon decreed that all Jews adopt a fixed surname. At that time, some Italian Jewish families took as their surname the name of their town or city. So your ancestral town in Italy may be “hidden” in your surname! Samuele Schaert’s I Cognomi degli Ebrei d’Italia (Surnames of the Jews of Italy) indicates the place of orig in of many Italian Jewish surnames.

Detti
Some old Italian records identify interested parties by both a hereditary surname and a detto. A detto was more than a nickname because it was used by multiple members of the family, often for more than one generation. For example, the death record of Salvatore Iannizzi, dated 29 December 1891, records him as Iannizzi Salvatore Zanella. As was customary in Italian recordkeeping, the surname Iannizzi precedes the given name Salvatore. But notice the additional name Zanella. Though the word detto does not appear in this case (often it does), Zanella was indeed a detto used by this family for several generations.

How can we know this? 1) Salvatore Iannizzi and relatives of his always appear in the records with their surnames, but only in some instances, not all, is the detto appended. 2) The detto does not appear in their birth records. 3) Individuals bearing the detto Zanella, regardless of what their surnames were—Iannizzi as well as others—all fit into the same family tree. 4) The detto appears only in the records of Mammola. Individuals born in neighboring towns do not appear in the records with the detto until they move to Mammola and marry into this clan. 5) Zanella does not appear in any records of Mammola as a surname.

The custom of using a detto was more prevalent in some towns than others. In some places the practice was not observed at all. This reflects the wide variation you will find in records created throughout the Italian peninsula and islands of Sicily and Sardinia over the centuries. Local customs varied. When your ancestors came to America, was it their surname they went by, or their detto?

These few cultural observations demonstrate that Italian surnames have changed over time, that some Italians were known by nicknames or detti rather than their legal names, and that Italian Jews used patronymics for centuries before they adopted fixed surnames. Keep these considerations i n mind as you attempt to pick up the paper trail of your family in Italian records. Maybe the family name you use today was never a surname at all!

John Philip Colletta, Ph.D., is a faculty member of the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. He recently updated and expanded his guidebook Finding Italian Roots: The Complete Guide for Americans (GPC, 2003).