Help on a Name?

[wasson23]

Hello,

I have two names and I am not sure how they would be correctly spelled.
I hope you will have some ideas!

These names were written down while someone with an Italian accent spoke:

Name 1: Griden'ta (first name)
Name 2: Tommaso (first name)
Name 3: Sirsni (surname?)

Are these names spelled differently than what was written? Are they common?

Thank you for your time!

[Tessa78]

Tommaso is correct spelling for #2

Have to think about the others

What region of Italy is the surname supposed to be from?

T.

[Tessa78]

Any chance you can post an image of the document on which these names appear?

As you can see after you put the name "Sirsni" onto this site, the name does not exist today in Italy.
http://gens.labo.net/it/cognomi/genera.html


Possibilities would include "Circensi" and "Circenzi" which exist today, but are not common.

T.

[wasson23]

Yes, the names came from my great grandpa's naturalization papers.
They were written by someone American as he spoke with his Italian accent, so I don't know if the names are even spelled right...

Thanks for taking a look. There are various mysteries, beyond the name spellings! But I figured I better verify WHO I am looking for first

[wasson23]

Hmm, I don't think my images are showing. Here's the link to my images: https://picasaweb.google.com/summerwass ... directlink

[Tessa78]

Based on the images above, I'm guessing that "Griden'ta" is Giacinta

On one of the documents the first name is spelled "Jacinda" - so coupling the two phonetic spellings - I think it's Giacinta.

As for the surname - I think it may be spelled correctly on one document where is it's spelled "Cironi" That is definitely a name found in Italy still today. Substituting an "s" for the "o" in transcription is a good possibility.

Have you located any other US records for Tony?

T.

[liviomoreno]

I agree with Tessa78

[wasson23]

Tessa, thank you so much! I'm not familiar with Italian first names or last names, so your input is much appreciated! I have a few more documents on my Grandpa, but they don't provide any other leads outside of the US.

This story is very interesting - let's see if I can condense it at all:
Our family name is Leo, to me, he was Grandpa Toney Leo. His SSN was provided by the railroad which he worked for his entire life in the US.

It wasn't until some research that we found an Alien Registration card from 1960 (50 years after coming here) with his name listed as Tommaso Coppa. I wrote to the Immigration Services and they replied with the documents you saw - which was a new breakthrough for us.

In these documents it also noted that because he couldn't really speak English, the Railroad named him Toney Leo. And with that, we now have generations of Leos!! No one ever mentioned Coppa / Capua

So I made it through a good portion of the mystery, and with your assistance it looks like I will make it even further.

Boy - between phonetics, mis-spellings, the railroad, and his quiet nature - this has been quite the trail of clues!!

[Tessa78]

Boy - between phonetics, mis-spellings, the railroad, and his quiet nature - this has been quite the trail of clues!!

That's what makes genealogical research so rewarding and frustrating at the same time!!!



T.