What Your Italian Last Name Says About Where Your Family Came From

Your grandfather's last name wasn't written down at Ellis Island. It was written on the ship's list in Italy, near home, when he bought his ticket, and by 1907 that same list asked for the town he was leaving. This is a countdown of fifteen clues inside an Italian last name, from the one that only tells you half of Italy to the one that can lead you to the town. The last vowel, and the surprise at number thirty-two in Campania. Nickname names like Capone and Caruso. One blacksmith in six accents. Di and De, the ucci and iello endings, and the Lombards of Sicily. Veneto names that stop short, and the wheel in Naples that gave so many children the name Esposito. Then Sardinia's U and S, the space in Lo Iacono, the Greek accent on Calabrò, Italian Jewish city names, the Arbëreshë towns, the rare names with only one home, and at number one, the ship's manifest and the column that names the person your family left behind. If your grandparents came through Ellis Island, subscribe for more: https://www.youtube.com/@MulberryStreetMemo?sub_confirmation=1 Clues covered: the last letter, nickname names, trade names, Di and De, diminutive endings, place-name surnames, Veneto and Friuli endings, foundling names, Sardinian names, Lo and La, the Greek stressed ending, Italian Jewish city names, Arbëreshë names, one-town surnames, and the ship's manifest.