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 June 2008 Back to Table of Contents Back to Archives Main Page Section: Genealogy A Rose by Any Other Name ...
This is not a criticism of parents’ naming any child whatever they like, which is, after all, their right. It is more a comment on how names in the past were assigned. Many nations and regions had specific naming custom and traditions, which can turn out to be a great help in finding ancestors and building a family tree. In Poland, it was common to name a child for the saint representing the date of birth; in Italy and Sicily, there was a fairly rigid practice of naming the first son after the father’s father, the first daughter after the father’s mother, the second son after the mother’s father, and the second daughter after the mother’s mother; Germany sometimes used a combination of these methods, giving the child a spiritual or saint’s name, then a true first name derived from an ancestor in the Sicilian style. The spiritual name might have been Johan, for example, and all male children would have this spiritual name, followed by their “first” name: Johan Anton Mueller, Johan Petr Mueller, Johan Georg Mueller, etc. In everyday life and in business and marital records, the child was not called by his spiritual name, but by his first name. Later records could be confused by record-keepers’ assuming the spiritual name (since it preceded the other names) was the first name, and dropping the true first name, thus listing several children of the same parents, each with different birth dates, but all shown as “Johan Mueller.” The Sicilian method can be confusing, since a man who had five sons could then have five grandsons, all with the same name as he! However, it can also be useful. If a person is searching for his Sicilian grandfather’s records, but doesn’t know his name, I ask “What was your eldest brother’s name?” Whatever it was, the odds are that it was also the grandfather’s name. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Italians and Sicilians did not name children after themselves, except in special cases; after a couple had had ten or twelve children, the youngest may have been named after his father. Or, if a man died while his wife was pregnant, the baby was named after him. This was true even if the child was a girl: she would be given the feminine form of her father’s name: Michela for Michele, Gaetana for Gaetano, Angela for Angelo, etc. Only after immigrants came to America (possibly because their parents were not here to explain or enforce “the rules”) did it become common for a man to name his son Junior after himself; Junior did the same thing, and then had a proliferation of Joseph III’s, Joseph IV’s, etc.
If you are searching old-country records, you must know the spelling of the name in the original language. If you’re researching American records, you must know the English version, its spelling and possibly the nickname that might have been used. Carmela Anzalone would have been just that in Italian records, but her American census might have shown Carmen, or Millie, Mildred, or even Nellie! There are numerous websites which give American equivalents of foreign names. Questions From Readers: Q: I know for a fact that my great-grandfather emigrated from Germany to America through Ellis Island in the early 1900s. His name was Anthony Schultz. Yet I can find no record of him on www.ellisisland.org. Why? —S. G. A: In Germany in the early twentieth century, “Anthony” was not a common given name. Try searching for Anton Schultz. Further, you might try Anton Schulz, Anton Shulz, Anton Shults, etc. Q: My father was an only son. We knew him as James. I have found what I believe to be my grandfather Giovanni’s Italian birth record, which gives his father’s name as Vincenzo. Do you think this could be the right record? —John S. A: It could very well be. Your father’s given name may have been Vincenzo (pronounced “veen-CHAINS-oh”). That would match his grandfather’s name. Some American officials couldn’t pronounce “veen-CHAINS-oh,” so they may have decided to call your father “James,” which (almost) sounds right. By the way, the fact that your name is John also strengthens the possibility that the record is from your family, especially if you’re the eldest son, since John is the anglicization of Giovanni, your presumed grandfather’s name. Write to Angelo at GenealogyTips@aol.com or visit his website, www.conigliofamily.com/ConiglioGenealogyTips.htm. back to top back to table of contents Current Issue | About Forever Young | Where to Find | Advertise | Our Advertisers | Community Calendar | Contest | Clubs | Contact Us | Archives | Home |
