As I attempted to construct my family tree over the years and it started taking shape...a pattern began emerging as that of a crazy quilt of specific names. It’s not unusual to have a son or daughter named for one of their parents. I just had no idea how many namesakes existed within my family. It's sort of like a veritable Noah’s Ark of name pairings!
😲
There is an established naming convention used in Italy, especially amongst older generation Italians...
· The first male is named after his
paternal grandfather.
· The second male is named after his
maternal grandfather.
· The first female is named after
her paternal grandmother.
· The second female is named after
her maternal grandmother.
Subsequent children could be named after the parents, a favorite aunt or uncle, a saint or a deceased relative. I have discovered that this tradition runs rampant throughout my family tree. It can be intriguing, but it's also a little nerve-racking, while you are figuring out who’s who.
In an ideal world, this naming tradition should make it easy to identify ancestors...nope, uh-uh, no way. Think about it for a second...an ancestor that had a falling out with his family, wouldn't presumably name his child after his parents. If he was orphaned...he may not know who his parents were. If the firstborn child was named after a grandparent and subsequent children followed the same naming tradition...what happens if that child dies suddenly? The child named after the grandparent may in fact be the third or fourth one down the line.
Here's a sampling of some of the namesakes from my family. Hopefully, it will provide a general idea of what I was dealing with. The chart isn't pretty and it's not all-inclusive, but I think the point is made...
NAMESAKE CHART
The first
column labeled 'primary' in the chart below is the ancestor bearing the name
starting with my great-grandfathers. The next column labeled, 'secondary'
is a list of all ancestors where there is a direct correlation to the
'primary.' (Note: the numbers behind each name is another identifier that I
use within my Ancestry tree). The 'namesake' column identifies who the
'secondary' individual is named after and the last three
columns...should be self-explanatory. 😵
Name - Primary
|
Name - Secondary
|
Namesake
|
DOB
|
Role / Relationship to Primary
|
Role / Relationship to Secondary
|
Fedele
Poppa (1) (paternal great-grandfather)
|
|
|
1856
|
|
|
|
Fedele
“Fred” Poppa / Pope (2)
|
Fedele
Poppa (1)
|
1911
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Fedele “Fred” Poppa Sr (3)
|
Fedele
Poppa (1)
|
1928
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Fred A. Poppa (4)
|
Fedele
Poppa (1)
|
1928
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Fred Poppa/Pope (2a)
|
Fedele
“Fred” Poppa / Pope (2)
|
1946
|
Great-Grandson
|
Son
|
Leonardo
Poppa (1)
(paternal great-uncle)
|
|
|
1884
|
|
|
|
Leonardo “Nardo” Poppa (1a)
|
Leonardo
Poppa
|
1921
|
Son
|
|
|
Leonard F. Poppa (2)
|
Leonardo
Poppa
|
1956
|
Grandson
|
|
Isidoro
Poppa (1)
(paternal grandfather)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Isidore Quaranta (2)
|
Isidoro
Poppa (1)
|
1927
|
Nephew
|
|
|
Isidore
R. Quaranta (2.1)
|
Isidoro
Poppa (1)
|
1930
|
Nephew
|
|
|
Isidore Joseph Poppa/Pope (3)
|
Isidoro
Poppa (1)
|
1941
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Isidore “Izzy” Quaranta Jr (2.1.a)
|
Isidore
R. Quaranta (2.1)
|
1954
|
Great-Nephew
|
Son
|
Agostino
/August Poppa (1)
(paternal great-uncle)
|
|
|
1902
|
|
|
|
August
“Augie” Poppa/Pope (2)
|
Agostino/August
Poppa (1)
|
1922
|
Nephew
|
|
|
Anthony
“August” Poppa Sr (1a)
|
Agostino/August
Poppa (1)
|
1935
|
Son
|
|
|
August I. Poppa/DeGuide (2a)
|
August
“Augie” Poppa/Pope (2)
|
1952
|
Great-Nephew
|
Son
|
|
Anthony “August” Poppa Jr (1.a.1)
|
Anthony
“August” Poppa (1a)
|
1958
|
Grandson
|
Son
|
Leonardo
DiFoggio (1)
(paternal great-grandfather)
|
|
|
1860
|
|
|
|
Leonard DiFoggio/Andre (2)
|
Leonardo
DiFoggio (1)
|
1915
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Leonard Vito DiFoggio (3)
|
Leonardo
DiFoggio (1)
|
1915
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Leonarda “Lena” Zaccari (4)
|
Leonardo
DiFoggio (1)
|
1917
|
Granddaughter
|
|
|
Leonard
V. Poppa/Pope (5)
|
Leonardo
DiFoggio (1)
|
1918
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Leonard “Lee” Popa (5a)
|
Leonard
V. Poppa/Pope (5)
|
1957
|
Great-Grandson
|
Son
|
Michele
“Michael” Lufrano (1)
(maternal great-grandfather)
|
|
|
1859
|
|
|
|
Michael
DeLio (2)
|
Michele
“Michael Lufrano (1)
|
1909
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Michael
F. Lufrano (3)
|
Michele
“Michael Lufrano (1)
|
1914
|
Grandson
|
|
|
Michael Lufrano Jr
|
Michael
F. Lufrano (3)
|
1936
|
Great-Grandson
|
Son
|
|
Michael
J. DeLio Jr (2a)
|
Michael
DeLio (2)
|
1941
|
Great-Grandson
|
Son
|
|
Michael C. DeLio
|
Michele
“Michael Lufrano (1)
|
1964
|
Great-Great Grandson
|
|
|
Michael R. Lufrano
|
Michele
“Michael” Lufrano (1)
|
1965
|
Great-Grandson
|
|
|
Michael S. DeLio
|
Michael
J. DeLio Jr (2a)
|
1964
|
Great-Great Grandson
|
Son
|
In a slight loophole identified within the naming convention traditionally used...Isidoro's second eldest son, my dad... was named after his uncle, Rocco DiFoggio instead of his grandfather, Leonardo. Isidoro and Rocco were traveling companions from Italy to the United States in 1911. While in Chicago, they lived in the same building with their families according to the 1920 census. I know of no facts to the contrary, so I think it is safe to say that Rocco and my grandfather were close friends as well as brothers-in-law. As testament to that relationship, my father was christened Rocco, in honor of his uncle.
The word namesake means having the same name as another. The christening of a newborn with the name of a family elder or someone else held in high esteem, is a way to show honor and respect to those that came before, and in a sense... connect us with our past. As difficult as it was at times to identify some of the same-name relationships found throughout the history of my family... I believe the naming tradition is a good thing and helps to keep our loved ones alive in our memories, as well as for future generations.
PHOTO GALLERY
Fedele Poppa & Sons...
Left: Great-Grandpa Fedele Poppa;
Top Right: Great-Uncle Leonardo;
Middle Right: Grandpa Isidoro;
Bottom Right: Great-Uncle Agostino
Isidoro Poppa & Sons...
top row L-R: Uncle Fred & Grandpa Isidoro;
bottom row L-R: Rocco (Dad), Uncle Leonard and
Leonardo DiFoggio & Sons...
Left: Great-Grandpa Leonardo;
Top Right: Great-Uncle Michele (Michael);
Bottom Right: Great-Uncle Rocco
Michael Lufrano & Sons...
Left: Great-Grandpa Micheal
Right Top: Great-Uncle James
Middle: Great-Uncle Anthony
Bottom: Great-Uncle Frank
SOURCES:
'A Genealogist's Guide to
Discovering Your Italian Ancestors' copyright © 1997 by Lynn Nelson
' Italian Naming Traditions and Their
Ramifications' an article dated Saturday; 24 October 2016 found at
ItalianGenealogy.com