Su perna?

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jml1991
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Su perna?

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Can anyone tell me what the notation "(Su) perna" means? It appears on the baptismal record, in place of a first name, for a child of Andrea Marretta and Caterina from the town of Prizzi, Sicily, in 1638.

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su perna marretta.jpg
AngelaGrace56
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Re: Su perna?

Post by AngelaGrace56 »

Perna is a surname. I'm not sure what the abbreviation "su" means unless it is suppose to be the Latin "sic" but then I'm not really sure what it is relating to as nothing seems to precede this. It's a mystery. Someone else hopefully will know.

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Re: Su perna?

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The surname is Marretta, as that is the father's name, and the Su Perna was written in the space normally reserved for the given name. A strange mystery to be sure. I wondered if the Su Perna related somehow to the condition of the child, i.e., does it indicate that he/she was stillborn? Or perhaps that the naming of the child was postponed for some reason? Any thoughts welcome!
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PippoM
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Re: Su perna?

Post by PippoM »

Perna is also a feminine name, though it is no more used. I have some in my wife's tree.
Yet, I don't know what (su) may mean.
What is the year of the record?
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Re: Su perna?

Post by jml1991 »

The record is from 1638, from the town of Prizzi, province of Palermo, Sicily. I've gone through many, many of the baptismal, marriage and death records from this town and this is the first time I've ever seen a notation like Su Perna. Perna certainly does sound like a feminine name, but it is very curious that it is preceded by "(Su)". I wondered whether it meant something in Latin, though I cannot find it in my Latin genealogy word lists, nor on any Latin translation sites.
Thank you for any thoughts on this!
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Re: Su perna?

Post by PippoM »

The register of the picture seems to be of the kind in use at the end of XIX century. So, if the record is of 1638, it was probably transcribed from the original register to a "modern" one. So (just a guess) maybe the person who transcribed it was not sure about what he was reading from the old one ("Perna" or "Superna").
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Re: Su perna?

Post by jml1991 »

Hi PippoM,
Yes, you are correct about the transcribing. I believe all the records in this particular file, which includes baptisms from 1618-1655, were transcribed in 1909, probably because (I'm guessing here), the originals were becoming too fragile or damaged and difficult to read. So it's entirely possible that the transcriber simply couldn't read the original one with certainty. I also believe that some baptisms were completely omitted by the transcriber, probably for the same reason, as I have ancestors who I am certain were baptized during that time in Prizzi, but I cannot find a record for them.
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Re: Su perna?

Post by jml1991 »

Ha! It pays to search again. I just found the original baptismal certificate, which clearly seems to indicate that the first name was Perna. I still don't know why the transcriber would have added the "(Su)" before the name. Is Perna a diminutive form of Superna?
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Re: Su perna?

Post by PippoM »

Can you show the original?
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Re: Su perna?

Post by jml1991 »

Hi Pippo,

Here is the original:
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MarrettaPerna bap1638.jpg
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Re: Su perna?

Post by PippoM »

Really strange! Sorry, I can't help!
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Re: Su perna?

Post by jml1991 »

Thanks for taking a look at it!
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