Ok, so not all Italians have 'common' surnames - or do they? Italian names in general can be tricky. Usually both first and last names are common as we can see by the two most common first names Giuseppe and Maria. So how can we overcome this problem and guarantee we have the right ancestor we are searching for? The following article written by Juliana Smith can answer some of those questions.


From the Ancestry Learning Center - Juliana Smith writes Searching for Common Surnames a step by step 'how to ' guide using a profile type method and summary system to help you make an educated guess on which ancestor is the ancestor you are looking for.

*Note: I While this article uses North American common names as examples the same principles can be applied to searching for any Italian surname.