Knowing your relative’s name in his/her original language is very important. Before you start searching old records, take the time to determine the right name, including its correct spelling. Below is a list of given names and a pronunciation guide.  The emphasized syllable is shown in CAPITALS in this guide.  Note that vowels in both the Sicilian and Italian languages have the following sounds: A is “ah” or "uh"; E is “eh” (“long a”); I is “ee”; O is “oh” (“long o), and U is “oo” (like the "oo" in "foot", or the "oo" in "boot"). “ A, E, I, O, U” in Italian is “ah, eh, ee, oh, oo”!!  The English sound of I (“long i” as in “eye”) is given by the combination “ai” in Sicilian or Italian.   Sicilian/Italian have no letter "k", "y" or "w".  They have a letter written like "j", but this "j" is actually a form of the letter "i", and is pronounced as we would pronounce "y" in English.

      Meanings of the the Sicilian/Italian names are listed below, where they are known.  In most cases, these are the meanings of the Italian words which form the name, however some names were developed from ancient names in other languages; the Italian word may no longer carry the meaning, but there may have been an original meaning.  For example, the common masculine name Giovanni carries no clear meaning in Italian, but it derives from the Hebrew name Yohanon, which means "YHWH has been gracious".  YHWH is the Hebrew acronym for the god whose name cannot be spoken or written.  Similarly, Giuseppe is from the Hebrew name Yosef, which means "YHWH will increase", etc.  If the meaning is from a language other than Italian, that language is shown in parentheses.

       Many Sicilian and Italian given names are modified as 'diminutives' by changing the ending to "ino" (masculine) or "ina" (feminine), as in Paolino, meaning "little Paolo" and Paolina, meaning "little Paola".  I have not shown these diminutives in every case, however in many cases the diminutive is the dominant version of the feminine form.  For example, Tommasa is the feminine form of Tommaso, but Tomasina is used just as frequently: Michelina instead of Michela; Corradina, etc.

       Names also sometimes become freely interchanged with others, which sometimes have completely different meanings or origins.  Examples of frequently interchanged names are Agostino (majestic) replaced by Fagostino or Faustino (lucky); Gaetana (from Gaeta) and Agatina (good); Ottaviano (eighth) to Taviano or Damiano (subduer).  Arcangelo (archangel, uber-angel) or simply Angelo (messenger) are often interchanged for Michelangelo, who, after all, was THE archangel.

        I am (slowly) adding audible pronunciations to some of the names.  If a name is in blue, underlined, click on it, turn up your sound, then click on the "speaker" icon in Google Translate.

To see how these names were 'shortened' in the original language, click HERE.  

For a similar list including English-to-Italian conversion, click HERE.

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