R E S E A R C H   G U I D A N C E

Italy
Research Outline
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Helps For Using This Research Outline
Italian Search Strategies
Records At The Family History Library
Archives And Libraries
     Provincial Archives [Archivio Di Stato]
     Local Civil Offices [Comune]
     Church Archives
     Church Parish
     Other Libraries
     Historical And Genealogical Societies
     Inventories, Registers, Catalogs
     Computer Networks And Bulletin Boards
Biography
Census
     Understanding The Census
     Availability Of Census Records
Church Directories
Church History
     Roman Catholic
     Waldensians
     Eastern Or Greek Orthodox
     Other Churches
Church Records
     General Historical Background
     Duplicate Church Records
     Information Recorded In Church Registers
     Finding Church Records
     Search Strategies
     Records Of Non-catholic Religions
Civil Registration
     General Historical Background
     Information Recorded In Civil Registers
     Finding Civil Registration Records
Court Records
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
     Finding The Emigrant’s Town Of Origin
     Emigration From Italy
     Records Of Italian Emigrants In Their Destination Countries
     Immigration Into Italy
Gazetteers
Genealogy
     Major Collections And Databases
     Family Histories
     Genealogical Collections
Heraldry
Historical Geography
History
     Local Histories
Jewish History
Jewish Records
Language And Languages
Maps
Military Records
     Historical Background
     Military Records Of Genealogical Value
     Finding Military Records
Minorities
Names, Personal
     Surnames
     Given Names
Nobility
Notarial Records
Periodicals
Probate Records
Schools
Social Life And Customs
Societies
Other Records Of Italy
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions

NAMES, PERSONALLook this term up in the glossary.

Understanding surnames and given names can help you find and identify your ancestors in the records.


Surnames

Before record keeping began, most people had only one name, such as Giovanni (John). As the population increased, it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. The problem was usually solved by adding descriptive information. Giovanni became Giovanni Fabro (John the smith), Giovanni di Matteo (John son of Matthew), Giovanni Basso (John the short), or Giovanni di Napoli (John from Napoli). At first, surnames applied only to one person and not to the whole family. After a few generations, these names were passed from father to child.

Surnames developed from four major sources:

Surnames were first used by the nobility and wealthy land owners. Later they were used by merchants and townspeople and eventually by the rural population. This process took between two and three centuries. In Italy the practice was mostly established by the 1400s.

Women’s Surnames. Women are referred to by their maiden name in most documents.

Alias Surnames. In some areas of Italy, individuals may have taken a second surname. In records this second surname may be preceded by the word detto, vulgo, or dit. This practice was used to distinguish between different branches of the same family, especially when the families remained in the same town for generations.


Grammatical Effects On Italian Names

With a few exceptions, names in Italy follow the same pattern as the rest of the language: masculine names end in o, and feminine names in a.

Italian genealogical records may be in Italian or Latin and occasionally in German or French. Your ancestor’s name could be in Latin on the birth record, in Italian on the marriage record, and in Latin again on the death record. Names are often spelled quite differently when translated into different languages.

Italian Latin English
Elisabetta Elisabetha Elisabeth
Giovanni Joannes John
Guiseppe Josephus Joseph
Di Andrea Andrei Andrews or son of Andrew

The following book translates given names into 23 different European languages (including English):

Janowowa, Wanda, et al. Sownik Imion (Dictionary of Names). Wroclaw: Ossoliski, 1975. (FHL book EUROPE REF 940 D4si; film 1181578 item 2; fiche 6000839; computer number 26595.)


Given Names

Italian given names are often derived from Biblical names, such as Giuseppe (Joseph) or from the names of a saint, such as Francesco (Francis).

When baptized, children were usually given several given names. Some of these may be the names of parents or other relatives. In some areas, names given at baptism were not the same names that the child used during life. Civil registration records may only list a child’s first given name, but church records (such as baptism registers) would list all of the given names.

In Italy a particular naming pattern was very common and continues to be used in some regions today. The following pattern may be helpful in researching family groups and determining the parents of the mother and father:

If a child died, often the name was given to the next child of that gender.

Several books discuss Italian names and their meanings. Some of them also indicate the cities or regions where many names are most common. One such book is:

Fucilla, Joseph G. Our Italian Surnames. Evanston, Ill.: Chandler’s, Inc., 1949. (FHL book EUROPE 945 D4f; computer number 26277.)

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