Italian Last Name

Tracing an Italian last name can take you back to the late nineteenth century, when steamships crossed the ocean with courageous immigrants seeking a new life in a new land.

The great wave of Italian immigration to the United States peaked between 1880 and 1920.  In those years, at least four million Italians left their country for a new land.  If you have an Italian last name, you have a good chance of discovering your ancestor among these immigrants.

Early on, many of the immigrants were young, single men.  They came to work in the bustling new cities of the United States, planning to return home with their savings.  However, as time went on, more and more of these men stayed, then sent for their families, who made the dangerous trip across the Atlantic on overcrowded ships.

At first, the ships came to the great Atlantic ports of Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York.  When Ellis Island opened in 1892, all East Coast immigrants came through that port in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.

Your Italian last name may be traceable through a variety of historical documents.  Ships' registers may list the profession, birthplace, age, and marital status as well as name and intended destination of your ancestor.  Church records may give dates of baptisms, marriages, and burials.  Census records list residence, profession, age, and often more.

An Italian last name may lead you back to an artist, a soldier, a farmer, but it will surely lead you to a family with the strength and courage to start fresh in a different world.  Discover the roots of your Italian last name on OneGreatFamily.com, the original Internet family tree.  You can rapidly add new branches to your tree.