I too, love surnames. I have several dictionary sized books about them, including one for Calabria. TWO points I'd love to add to the conversation are: Italy has more surnames than any other country,!
And seco, the soppranome. The most frustrating part of the official birth records is that the names people went by are not written there ( like Botticelli) particularly in towns where there weren't a lot of surnames, the soprannomi were really important. When i went to my grandfather's home town, they asked me, which Torchia? Luckily I knew. With each year, more and more of these soprannomi are disappearing..
I have a great grandfather who was known as "lasciami" and I just love it. Thanks for a fun article
When I first came to Italy I found it really strange that married women here retained their surnames. But that just came from my ignorance of European cultures, and how societies generally are constructed. I also loved tracing my ancestral heritage in the UK - it's absolutely fascinating digging up one's lineage, from a point of not knowing who my great grand parents were, to tracking back to the 1640s. Your article is so interesting and informative. I've studied a lot of art history and always get confused with single names - Titian, Caravaggio, Giorgione etc, and your post has unpicked the subject very well. Thank you.
this is REALLY interesting! Thank you for all this info - I had no idea!! I mean, I knew about Leonardo da Vinci (the "da" gives it away) but Botticelli? too funny.
My maternal grandmother's name is Koenig. German, king. Fantastic. My grandfather's name was Stolper. Again, German but what does it mean? Best as anyone has been able to figure out, it may mean "to stumble." Not the most flattering... :)
Wonderful and informative article, Cheryl. For years, my research into my grandfather’s immigration to Colorado was at a standstill. I finally enlisted the help of a wonderful local historian. We phonetically misspelled my family name, Chiovitti, into every conceivable English translation. Like magic, we were able to locate records and documents from the early 1900’s in Denver!
My father's surname was originally Peter. Apparently this word was used as a nickname for a man's genitals and created some mocking by rude children. So the name was changed to Peters. Not sure why they thought having more than one man's genitals would stop the mocking. LOL!
I love the idea of honouring people or family through continuing a name. My brothers second name is Stephen, after my mother’s brother who passed away on a boating tragedy.
My name, Heather, was picked by my brother. My parents gave him two options and he picked Heather!
I too, love surnames. I have several dictionary sized books about them, including one for Calabria. TWO points I'd love to add to the conversation are: Italy has more surnames than any other country,!
And seco, the soppranome. The most frustrating part of the official birth records is that the names people went by are not written there ( like Botticelli) particularly in towns where there weren't a lot of surnames, the soprannomi were really important. When i went to my grandfather's home town, they asked me, which Torchia? Luckily I knew. With each year, more and more of these soprannomi are disappearing..
I have a great grandfather who was known as "lasciami" and I just love it. Thanks for a fun article
When I first came to Italy I found it really strange that married women here retained their surnames. But that just came from my ignorance of European cultures, and how societies generally are constructed. I also loved tracing my ancestral heritage in the UK - it's absolutely fascinating digging up one's lineage, from a point of not knowing who my great grand parents were, to tracking back to the 1640s. Your article is so interesting and informative. I've studied a lot of art history and always get confused with single names - Titian, Caravaggio, Giorgione etc, and your post has unpicked the subject very well. Thank you.
this is REALLY interesting! Thank you for all this info - I had no idea!! I mean, I knew about Leonardo da Vinci (the "da" gives it away) but Botticelli? too funny.
My maternal grandmother's name is Koenig. German, king. Fantastic. My grandfather's name was Stolper. Again, German but what does it mean? Best as anyone has been able to figure out, it may mean "to stumble." Not the most flattering... :)
what a great abundance of historic info.
Wonderful and informative article, Cheryl. For years, my research into my grandfather’s immigration to Colorado was at a standstill. I finally enlisted the help of a wonderful local historian. We phonetically misspelled my family name, Chiovitti, into every conceivable English translation. Like magic, we were able to locate records and documents from the early 1900’s in Denver!
My father's surname was originally Peter. Apparently this word was used as a nickname for a man's genitals and created some mocking by rude children. So the name was changed to Peters. Not sure why they thought having more than one man's genitals would stop the mocking. LOL!
I love the idea of honouring people or family through continuing a name. My brothers second name is Stephen, after my mother’s brother who passed away on a boating tragedy.
My name, Heather, was picked by my brother. My parents gave him two options and he picked Heather!
Thanks for sharing a bit about your family!