Showing posts with label Italian Surnames. Show all posts
One site that offers a lot of interesting information about Italian Surnames and how they came to be is Italy World Club. They have broken down the origins of surnames by several categories such as Patronymics, Toponymics, Occupational, Nicknames, and Surnames of Foundlings.
The SURNAME, also called FAMILY NAME, is nowadays added to an original or baptismal name, inherited and held in common by members of a family. The Italian word "cognome" comes from the Latin "cum nomine", something that accompanies the name. In antiquity no surnames were used, then for the first time in ancient Rome the use of the tria nomina ...
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One of the best articles I have read about Italian Surnames was the Life in Italy website and written by By Elizabeth Walling. A piece extracted from the article follows below.
Delving into the research of surnames, also known as last names or family names, is an exciting way to learn more about your family history. When researching Italian surnames, you will quickly find that each family name in Italy was formed for a particular purpose. Italy has always been known for its lively and extraordinary land and people, and Italian names exhibit these same qualities.
In the age of ancient Rome, individuals were named in three parts. These parts included a basic first name, a name in which a person's family was identified, and also a unique name that described that individual.
Read the original article...
Some of you may recognize this site as the one used by Susan Sarandon on Who Do You Think You Are which aired April 24, 2010. You plug in your Italian Surname and it will show you the concentration of the surname in various regions throughout Italy. An excellent resource for beginners and seasoned researchers alike.
http://gens.labo.net/en/cognomi/
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