Ascendancy Research
Tracing one individual or several, generation by generation, back as far as the records go.
Services
Surname Analysis
The etymology of your surname, its frequency and the area where it is most widespread.
An Italian surname carries information of its own. Its form may point to a trade, a place, a father’s given name or a nickname; its distribution across Italy may point to a region even before any record has been found.
What the analysis covers
- Etymology — the origin and meaning of the name
- Frequency — how common or rare it is
- Area of greatest diffusion — where in Italy the surname is concentrated
How it fits with research
Surname analysis is useful on its own, as a first orientation, and as a complement to ascendancy research: knowing where a name is concentrated can suggest where to look when a family’s town of origin is uncertain. It is not a substitute for records — a surname’s distribution describes a name, not a particular family — and I will always say so when a document, rather than a distribution, is what a question really needs.
Related services
Descendancy Research
Tracing all the descendants of a given ancestor or generation, forward through time.
Original Records
Copies of original birth (baptism), marriage and death records from civil and church registers.
Tell me about your family.
Send me what you already know about your Italian ancestors — names, towns, approximate dates — and describe what you hope to discover. I will reply with my opinion and an estimate for your project.