Ottorino does not mean eight, it’s a diminutive of the german name Otto, which indicates a rich man, someone with extensive possessions, a powerful man. The numerals names are used quite a lot in Emilia Romagna. My granny hs a cousin named Primo, and I have personally met a Settimo (by the time you tget to sevel children you are allowed to have exhausted your naming options!). Emilia also has the most unusual names. I have cousns named Waomi (prnounced “vaòmi”), which may be a corruption ow Wyoming! other members of my family are Nelso (it ought to be Nelson, but they didn’t knoiw about the final “n”), Vitige (she was a woman, but Vitige was a celtic chief that surrendered to Cesare), Dilva (???)…
Great Blog!!! Enjoyed it immensely.
I teach languages - including Italian. My passion, however is Italian dialects. I am basically fluent in Sicilian (messinese) and have informally studied Neapolitan and others. Contrary to what you may have mentioned, the accent most widely used in the States is Neapolitan due to the millions of Italo-americans who claim ancestry from the Campania region - it is also universally understood by most other southerners. Sicilian has a very different cadence and never drops final vowels as in Neapolitan - that said it is Neapolitan that is mostly used and immitated by Americans - to the point where most Americans think that “FONGOOL” (not FUNGOO) means FUCK YOU in Italian.
Regarding names: there was, back in the days og huge families, strict rules for naming children - up to the 4th & 5th daughter. (at least in the South)
I’ll save that for another time.
PS Quattro would be, acc’d to your spelling, QUACCHRU not Quacchro.
Ciao, e tante belle cose!
Thanks - it’s always good to get info from real experts. I (to my shame) have as yet spent almost no time in southern Italy - something I hope to remedy when I have time from all my other travels!
Glad you read my comment. Haven’t spent much time in the Mezzogiorno? That’s like having foreplay without actual intercourse!!
Hope you get down there real soon. Here I am in NY with a wife, 2 kids and a mortgage, cringing everytime I look at the exchange rate and wishing I were in Taormina- my favorite place in the whole world and there you are so close….. ma non e’ giusto!!
Auguroni per le feste,
Patrizio
Just wanted to add a name…My grandmother’s name was Aqualina Petrocce. I have never heard of anyone else with this name. Very interesting web site! Also,to the gentlemen who’s middle name is Bennedetto, that was my uncle Angelo’s (uncle by marriage) last name, but I have never heard it used as a first name before.
My great grandmothers name was Liberata. Which I find pretty uncommon. But other than that we have all traditional names; Rita, Marietta, Ada, Palmina, Pietra, too many Dario’s! Somehow my mother stuck me with a Scottish name, but I’m hoping to sneak Liberata into one of my children’s middle names!
I am an Italian & Canadian citizen, fluent in both Italian & English. Just wanted to add some more ancient Italian names to the list:
Elfio, Guglielmo, Eufemia, Clelia, Cassia, Annunziata, Immacolata, Crucifissa, Gelsomina, Calogero, Igliana, Eufemio, Guido…there are a few for now!
Ottorino does not mean eight, it’s a diminutive of the german name Otto, which indicates a rich man, someone with extensive possessions, a powerful man. The numerals names are used quite a lot in Emilia Romagna. My granny hs a cousin named Primo, and I have personally met a Settimo (by the time you tget to sevel children you are allowed to have exhausted your naming options!). Emilia also has the most unusual names. I have cousns named Waomi (prnounced “vaòmi”), which may be a corruption ow Wyoming! other members of my family are Nelso (it ought to be Nelson, but they didn’t knoiw about the final “n”), Vitige (she was a woman, but Vitige was a celtic chief that surrendered to Cesare), Dilva (???)…
my grandfather’s name is Antonio Bennedetto Molinari . Bennedetto must be extinct because I havent head of it and thats the middle name.
Great Blog!!! Enjoyed it immensely.
I teach languages - including Italian. My passion, however is Italian dialects. I am basically fluent in Sicilian (messinese) and have informally studied Neapolitan and others. Contrary to what you may have mentioned, the accent most widely used in the States is Neapolitan due to the millions of Italo-americans who claim ancestry from the Campania region - it is also universally understood by most other southerners. Sicilian has a very different cadence and never drops final vowels as in Neapolitan - that said it is Neapolitan that is mostly used and immitated by Americans - to the point where most Americans think that “FONGOOL” (not FUNGOO) means FUCK YOU in Italian.
Regarding names: there was, back in the days og huge families, strict rules for naming children - up to the 4th & 5th daughter. (at least in the South)
I’ll save that for another time.
PS Quattro would be, acc’d to your spelling, QUACCHRU not Quacchro.
Ciao, e tante belle cose!
Thanks - it’s always good to get info from real experts. I (to my shame) have as yet spent almost no time in southern Italy - something I hope to remedy when I have time from all my other travels!
Glad you read my comment. Haven’t spent much time in the Mezzogiorno? That’s like having foreplay without actual intercourse!!
Hope you get down there real soon. Here I am in NY with a wife, 2 kids and a mortgage, cringing everytime I look at the exchange rate and wishing I were in Taormina- my favorite place in the whole world and there you are so close….. ma non e’ giusto!!
Auguroni per le feste,
Patrizio
Just wanted to add a name…My grandmother’s name was Aqualina Petrocce. I have never heard of anyone else with this name. Very interesting web site! Also,to the gentlemen who’s middle name is Bennedetto, that was my uncle Angelo’s (uncle by marriage) last name, but I have never heard it used as a first name before.
My great grandmothers name was Liberata. Which I find pretty uncommon. But other than that we have all traditional names; Rita, Marietta, Ada, Palmina, Pietra, too many Dario’s! Somehow my mother stuck me with a Scottish name, but I’m hoping to sneak Liberata into one of my children’s middle names!
I am an Italian & Canadian citizen, fluent in both Italian & English. Just wanted to add some more ancient Italian names to the list:
Elfio, Guglielmo, Eufemia, Clelia, Cassia, Annunziata, Immacolata, Crucifissa, Gelsomina, Calogero, Igliana, Eufemio, Guido…there are a few for now!