Question about Names

[MaryGenottiCollins]

My maiden name is genotti, but when i found my family in Italy I noticed everyone has what "appears" to be two last names.

For instance, my great grandmother I always thought was named Carolina Vottero.

I find out it is really Carolina Vottero Vintrella

I found the children she had w/my gr grand father Tomasso Genotti are:

Francesco Eugenio Corias Genotti

etc.........

why two names and where does the "Corias" part come from?

[Luke]

Only thing that comes to mind is the spanish model in which names from both sides of he family are listed.

[JohnArmellino]

Perhaps you're dealing with a sopranome. A sopranome, or family nickname, was often used to differentiate one family line from another, as when there were many branches of the same family in a comune. It was also used on occasion when a new family moved into a comune and an existing family of that comune already carried the same surname. The use of a sopranome differentiated the new family from the existing family. Sometimes the word detto (also known as) was used to separate the two names. The use of a sopranome dates all the way back to the Romans, who used a nome, a cognome, and a sopranome. For example, Gaius Julius Caesar (nome-cognome-sopranome). In your case, as you research your family's records (and those of the comune in general) a pattern should emerge with respect to the possible use of a family nickname or sopranome.

[JamesBianco]

Perhaps you're dealing with a sopranome. A sopranome, or family nickname, was often used to differentiate one family line from another, as when there were many branches of the same family in a comune. It was also used on occasion when a new family moved into a comune and an existing family of that comune already carried the same surname. The use of a sopranome differentiated the new family from the existing family. Sometimes the word detto (also known as) was used to separate the two names. The use of a sopranome dates all the way back to the Romans, who used a nome, a cognome, and a sopranome. For example, Gaius Julius Caesar (nome-cognome-sopranome). In your case, as you research your family's records (and those of the comune in general) a pattern should emerge with respect to the possible use of a family nickname or sopranome.

Working with the records on my website I constantly encounter this tradition John. The records begin in 1538 and this was firmly in place already. By 1911 (when my records end) there were still families listed with two surnames separated by the words (in latin, they are church records) vuolgo or ats or alias.


Our most Prominent family in the Comune who still uses the double name now is Cavataio alias Galluzzo.

Here is an 18th Century marriage record for one of them, you can see the two surnames:

Mariano Cavataio ats Galluzzo

[MaryGenottiCollins]

John, thank you so much for explaining it to me....

I see in america, most drop the extra name.....