Knowing your relative’s name in his/her original language is very important. Before you start searching old records, take the time to determine the right name, including its correct spelling. Below is a list of given names in English, with the Italian names from which they may have been derived, and a pronunciation guide.  The emphasized syllable is shown in CAPITALS in this guide.  Note that vowels in Italian have the following sounds: A is “ah”; E is “ay” (“long a”); I is “ee”; O is “oh” (“long o), and U is “oo”. “ A, E, I, O, U” in Italian is “ah, ay, ee, oh, oo”!!  The English sound of I (“long i” as in “eye”) is given by the combination “ai” in Italian.

       Many names were translated literally. Thus, Filippo (fee-LEE-poh) became Philip and Michele (mee-KAY-lay) is Michael.  But names were not always translated literally. Felice (fay-LEE-chay) means Happy (Felix), but often in America it was translated as Phil or Philip. Sometimes the name was too difficult for Americans to pronounce, or one syllable of the name was prominent and became the basis for the name in English. For example, Vincenzo (veen-CHAINZ-oh) became James. Sometimes the person was given a nickname and the nickname was later transmuted into a completely different name. Barbaro (BAR-buh-roh) became Bob, which then became Robert, and Alfonso became Al, which became Albert. Diego (dee-AY-goh) became Dick, which became Richard, etc.

       In Italian, as in many languages, male and female names have different endings, signifying gender. This USUALLY means the man’s name ends in “o” and the woman’s in “a”, e.g. Angelo and Angela, Vincenzo and Vincenza, etc. Exceptions to this rule include Gianni and Gianna, and Michele and Michela.  Other exceptions include Andrea, which in Italy and Sicily is exclusively a man's name, as is Nicola.  The feminine form of Nicola is Nicolina.

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