How to Research Italian Genealogy

Researching Italian Genealogy

Genealogy is topic that I feel strongly about. I believe that it is important for people to know where they come from because it is our history. This is especially true of people who come from immigrant nations. The people who went before us made sacrifices, which have given many of us the opportunities that we enjoy today.

Italian Genealogy (Genealogia Italiana) is fortunately one of the easier genealogies to research. This is true for multiple reasons. The first is that Italians emigrated in waves. These waves happened during several time periods, which are specific to times and events going on in the world in those days. The modern state of Italy was founded in 1861. It is typical to associate Italy with luxury, fashion, gourmet cuisines, and la bella vita; however, Italy has had its fair share of problems since then, which have plagued the country to this day. The second aspect of Italian genealogy that helps your cause, is the fact that Italians are Catholics. Although the modern sentiment of religion in Italy is questionable, Italians are traditionally Catholic. This benefits people searching genealogy because Catholics keep good records. The old Catholic churches in Italy keep many records on people such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death certificates. A third beneficial reason is Italian last names or cognome italiane. Italian last names are usually consistent in that they do not change and can occasionally be indicative of the emigrant’s native region.

A Brief History of Italian Migration

The Italian diaspora internationally is one of the more famous groups that have come from Europe. The main reason is because of the lasting impact that the emigrants have had on the places that they have settled. Italians primarily migrated to the Americas; however, a fair number of Italians have also settled in places like Australia, even in recent years. The most prominent Italian communities are found in the Argentina, Canada, Brazil, and the United States. These countries have been heavily impacted by Italians and their influence is still clear today.

The majority of Italians emigrated after 1861, which was when the modern state of Italy was created. Although the history of Italy ranges back many thousands of years, it was not until 1861 that the many independent republics existing within Italy’s borders were able to unite to form a constitution. Accordingly, the Constitution written in 1861 left the southern regions in despair, which is why the majority of Italian emigrants who you will meet are typically of southern blood. The southern portion of Italy, commonly referred to as mezzogiorno (literally midday), is less economically stable to this day. Mezzogiorno basically begins south of Rome. The south of Italy consists of multiple regions including Basilicata, Campagna, Puglia, Calabria, and the islands of Sicily and Sardegna.

Getting Started

To get started with your genealogy, I suggest you read my other articles on genealogy, particularly Getting Started with your Genealogy and Doing Family History Research. Both of those articles can be applied to any genealogical records.

Next, I would recommend doing some research on your area. Italian emigrants were usually moved to certain areas to work. This can give you clues about your specific family lineage. An example of this would be Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican coffee industry was basically run through the use of Italian emigrant labor at one point in time. These Italians were predominately from Corsica, which was an Italian territory in the late 1800s. The Italians from your area might have a similar story.

Skills to Get You Started

To get started with researching your family’s Italian heritage is simple. There are just a few things that will be helpful in your search.

Last name(s) – The most obvious starting point is your family’s last name. The Italian word for last name or surname is cognome (pronounced co-nyo-meh). Every member of an Italian family would usually bear two names. A practice which has likely ceased since their immigration. Typically, a person’s name would be: First Name, Middle Name (If applicable), Dad’s Last Name, Mom’s Last Name. For example, Andrea Cristoforo Filardi e Ponzi. The “e” meaning and in Italian. You will generally see the names written like that when you find names documented, but the father’s name remains as the house name.
Language – You do not have to be fluent in Italian to research your family records, but it definitely helps to know some words. Towards the end of this article you will find a section with some helpful words in it.
Immigration port – Italians commonly emigrated through several ports, the most famous in the United States being New York via Ellis Island and New Orleans, among some others. However, there were also ports in South America such as Buenos Aires and some Brazilian coastal cities.
Region of Italy (Regione in Italia) – Knowing this information will be helpful, but it may not be given. You are likely going to find this information at some point, but it can be helpful if you are working backwards (i.e. starting with you) and have little information in the way of family history. The reason that this is important is because it links together travel from the Italian ports to your country. Also, this is somewhat indicative of the region and cities from which emigrants came.

Italian Discrimination and the Nicknames that Follow

Italians were highly discriminated in the United States and other places, especially in the early years. It would come as a surprise to many Americans to know that Italians were not so glamorized just a few years ago. In fact, they were ousted by society in many cases.

Italian discrimination had its roots in the nature of the work that the new emigrants undertook. It would later be fueled during World War II thanks to the efforts of a Fascist Italian regime lead by Benito Mussolini. Italians, like Japanese and German Americans were accused of having ties to their former countries, which were considered to be enemies at the time.

Another source of Italian discrimination arose from alleged ties to organized crime from the infamous Sicilian Mafia. The Mafia, known as “La cosa nostra”, or Our thing, had orchestrated crimes across international lines and held a presence until more recent times. Although, there are still allegations of the groups existence to this day, the organization’s face has changed drastically over the years.

A few derogatory nicknames:

Birds of paradise – Probably the lesser know of all three was this. This referred mostly to Italian workers in the southern and Caribbean areas that were brought from Italy for temporary positions. They came in during nice seasons and were sent back to Italy when times were slow; thus, they acquired the nickname.
Daigos – One of two nicknames closely associated with new Italian emigrants was Daigo. Generally taken as an offensive term, Daigo refers to the idea that Italians were paid ‘as the day-goes’. Thereby implying that Italian emigrants were given strictly blue-collar and labor jobs.
Wops – Wops is an acronym, that is usually written as “without papers”. Meaning that they had to work illegally because they were emigrants. The deeper connotation of this term would imply that they were exploited for their labor because they did not speak the language and were not legally able to work.

I tell you these terms so that if you come across them, you can have a better glimpse of the times. Perhaps, you can try to envision life and further your appreciation for the struggles of past generations.

Italian Vocabulary Relevant to Genealogy

Months (i mesi): Gennaio, Febbraio, Marzo, Aprile, Maggio, Giugno, Luglio, Augosto, Settembre, Ottobre, Novembre, Decembre
Days (i giorni): Lunedi, Martedi, Mercoledi, Giovedi, Venerdi, Sabato, Domenica
(Although, I capitalized Months and Days, they are not capitalized in the Italian language)
Last names are referred to as cognome Italiane, or Italian last names (surnames).
Birth, Marriage, Death certificate: certificato di nascita, matrimonio, morte
Birth records: Atti di nascita
Town, city, region, church: urbano, città, regione, chiesa
Husband, wife, sister, brother, daughter, son: marito,moglie, sorella, fratello, figlia, figlio
Grandfather, grandmother, grandparents, friend, friends: Nonno, nonna, nonni, amico, amici
Occupation, house: occupazione or lavoro, casa

This is obviously just a few Italian words, but I think that you will find that knowing them will help you in your search. Especially when you find older documents from Italy, which are of course, in Italian.

A few more tips:

Remember that in the olden days, parents may not have reported births immediately because they just did not have the resources. It may have taken a day or two to get to the church.
Start with what you know and work backwards.
Use search engines to find out more information. Type in names and dates that you have, you never know what might pop up.

Helpful Links

I can recommend two sites that I have personally used, but there are many others.

ItalianGenealogy.com – This is a basic site, but it has some good information and connection. One of the best features is its forum. You can search the forums for relevant information or post a new topic. This site is specifically for all Italian genealogy. You can make international connections.

GenLab – This site will give you an idea about last names only. Click on the map and type the Italian last name in the box. Next, click Trova (find). The map will show you where in Italy your family name is commonly found. Also, you may find Cognomi.it useful if you can read some Italian.