Italian Surname Database

Lost two months worth of data when I tried to upload the new database!  I always back things up but I guess in my haste I deleted the back up file and kept two copies of the old files. This seriously set me back but never one to be defeated I began imputing names again last night.  I may have to put the files up in an Excel format for a while until I catch up but at least all the names *should* be there. If you notice your name missing then please contact me.  The original site should still be intact though as I did have back of that.

Meanwhile I have turned the option to submit new surnames off until I sort out the current back log of names I still have to input again. Currently we have over 2000 user submitted names to the site and I have received several emails about success stories of people having connected because of the Italian Surname Database.

Hopefully I will have this sorted out soon.

The Jews In Sicily

Genealogia Dieli Genealogy, is the Sicilian-Jewish Genealogy site maintained by webmaster Arthur Dieli who has traced the Dieli surname back to 1648. The site contains several photo's, links and a page specific to Jewish surnames in Sicily complete with lists of names used prior to 1492.
It's interesting to read some of the surnames on these lists and compare them to more recent names. I can see how some *may* have evolved into their current spelling. Calabrisi, Lu Presti, Marino, Romano and Spangnolo are all on the lists, some of which have been extracted from Professor Martino's paper on The Jews of Messina.