Fortunato Aloisio

[dannyjosa]

Ciao everyone,

I have been researching ancestors and noted that many possible leads with the surname Josa/Jossi/Josi all had given names of Aloisio Fortunato, this happens for many generations. It excited me as it may be a way to prove lineage to various potentials. I know Italy honours relatives through the naming tradition which might explain why the name often appears, but perhaps I am barking up the wrong tree … i also noted that many others had this given name who don’t appear to be related to my line. The name appears alot but I don’t know what could have made Aloisio Fortunato so popular as a name, there is no saint or national hero with this name is there?

My question is, does anyone know why this might have been a common name? Why is it so popular?

Thanks

[joetucciarone]

Hi Danny - As you probably know, the surname "Fortunato" is fairly common in Italy today; it occurrs in over 900 communities throughout the peninsula. I searched for instances of the surnames "Josi" and "Josa" and found both are extremely rare in Italy today:

http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo- ... XlHHi-B1qs

http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo- ... XlG-y-B1qs

The surname "Jossi" is not currently found anywhere in the country:

http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo- ... XlHES-B1qs

However, that doesn't preclude its existence there in the past.

I know this doesn't answer your question; it's just some interesting etymology (if that's the right word).

[PippoM]

Aloisio Fortunato would be Luigi (Louis), who is a popular saint, followed by Fortunato, that means "lucky". And people gave such name as a wish at the start of a dangerous life.

[dannyjosa]

Thanks for the replies. My question is specifically about the combination of Fortunato Aloisio. I noticed many people called Fortunato Aloisio, with a surname that was a variant of Josa. Do I assume that everyone in this group is related or is Fortunato Aloisio just a very commonly occurring name?

Any idea? Thanks

[PippoM]

In what town did that happen?

[dannyjosa]

In Rome!