SAME NAME...

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)	1956	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 

Uncle Agostino

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

This post first appeared in my blog 'Digging Up My Family Roots' on 2/3/2020.