Dear readers,
Americanizing Italian names is my focus for the month of May because of Mother’s Day, May 12th this year. After the baby is born, and sometimes long before, picking out a name for the little newcomer is often one of the first parental decisions. In years gone by, it was easy: the first bambina or bambino was named after the paternal grandparents, the second after the maternal side. For example, my two girls were named Angelina and Caterina, the oldest being named after her paternal nonna.
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As to the original source of names, back in the old country, it was the saint’s calendar, where every day was dedicated to a specific saint. So in May, for example, a bambina born on the 24th might be named Giovanna, the female form of John. A bambino born May 26th, Filippo. In August, you could have bambini named Lorenzo (St. Lawrence Day, August 10th), Assunta, or Maria (Assumption of the Virgin Mary, August 15th).
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Americanization or changing of Italian names into American equivalents was done at Ellis Island or other ports of entry but much of it happened also in schools or workplaces. Italians were normally named after saints or religious events such as Easter (Pasquale), Christmas (Natale), Annunziata (Annunciation) Epiphany (Epifanio), or Rosary (Rosario). It was common to have both feminine versions and masculine versions of a name normally noted by “O” for masculine and “A” for feminine. Many names had no English counterpart, so more American-sounding names were chosen. Often the names had little or nothing to do with the original: My father Vincenzo became Jimmy in New York, and his paesano Pasquale became Patsy. Some of the translations that became common were Rosario for Ross, or Sal for Salvatore, while Biagio became Ben.
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There are many different factors involved in choosing the name of a baby. Some go with tradition, selecting the names of family members, while at the opposite end of the spectrum are the names of famous personalities chosen for the little bundle of joy. If you are curious about the most popular names for babies in Italy, you do not need to fly over to do the research. The Italian National Institute of Statistics, Italy’s version of the Census Bureau, keeps track not only of all of the babies born in the country but also their names. In 2023, the 20 most popular names for girls were: Chiara, Aurora, Beatrice, Giulia, Sofia, Ginevra, Giorgia, Alice, Aria, Bianca, Lucia, Martina, Alessia, Anna, Emilia, Matilde, Vittoria, Ludovica, Luna, and Sienna. For baby boys, the top 20 names last year were: Leonardo, Lorenzo, Matteo, Alessandro, Antonio, Francesco, Riccardo, Andrea, Edoardo, Gabriele, Luca, Marco, Mattia, Tommaso, Niccolò, Enzo, Giovanni, Giuseppe, Alessio and Federico.
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Baby names’ popularity often changes due to events, like the altruism on the part of Maggie and Reg Green, which continues to benefit young people throughout Italy. Their story and charitable deed should never be forgotten. As you may recall, Americans Reg Green and his wife Maggie held no grudge against the people of Italy for the tragic loss of their son Nicholas (7), and even gave the second-grader’s organs to seven Italians whose lives were transformed. Now, a monument to Nicholas stands in his hometown, Bodega Bay, in California, adorned by bells given by the people of Italy, including one that was blessed by the Pope.
When Nicholas died, he lit a spark of love in millions of hearts, and that love still lives. The astonishing saga began on September 29, 1994, when Reg, his wife Maggie, then 35, their daughter Eleanor, then five, and Nicholas were vacationing in southern Italy. Reg was behind the wheel of their car when two masked men pulled up alongside him on a highway and ordered him to pull over. Fearing for his family, Reg tried to race away, but the men fired and blasted out several windows in Reg’s car. It wasn’t until Reg sped ten miles down the road and saw a police car that he stopped and learned the heartbreaking truth: Nicholas had been shot in the head in the back seat. He lay in a coma for two days before dying. Reg and Maggie were devastated, but they immediately decided to donate the boy’s organs for transplant.
“Nicholas had lost his future. It seemed important to us that he could be given to others,” said Reg. Reg and Maggie had a cheerful meeting with all the recipients and their families.
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