lly important, you can also write NOTES about the soprannome ‘fact/event’, where you can discuss how it was derived, when it started, where it was recorded, or any other relevant information.
UNBREAKABLE RULE: Record WHERE You Found It
Regardless of which method you choose or devise to record your family’s soprannomi, there is one ‘unbreakable rule’ I strongly advise you include in your research practice:
After the soprannome, make a note of where you found it – preferably the earliest record.
For example, if a soprannome is in Giovanni’s baptismal record, put down ‘as per Giovanni’s baptismal record’ or something to that effect.
But what if it’s NOT in the baptismal record for Giovanni, but in the baptismal records of two of his children? Then, write ‘as per the baptismal records of his children, Antonio and Maria,’ etc. This helps you remember that the soprannome MIGHT have started with that generation, and not earlier. Later, if you find an earlier record, change the notation to reflect that.
Please trust me on this point. In the past, I neglected this important ‘rule’, which resulted in me not being able to identify where the soprannome first entered the tree, which can potentially create some confusion as you move backwards in time.
How NOT to Record Soprannomi (or Nicknames) in Your Tree
Two things you should NEVER (ever!) use in the name field for people in your tree are:
- Quotation marks (AKA inverted commas)
- Parentheses (AKA brackets)
I’ve seen these on so many trees on Ancestry, I’ve lost count. They are especially common in trees where people changed their names after immigration.
SIDE NOTE: While not on the subject of soprannomi, I really want to stress that married surnames should NEVER be part of a woman’s name – neither in the name field, and not in the ‘also known as. It is already understood that she would possibly have been known by her husband’s surname if she lived in the US or UK. Besides, when we are talking about Italian women, many, if not most, retain their maiden names throughout life.
So, let’s have a look at what a MESS all these variables can create. I’ll use my father’s eldest sister as an example (both she and my dad are deceased):
- My dad’s sister was born Pierina Luigina Serafini,
- She was known as Jean Serafinn in America.
- She was sometimes called ‘Gina’ in the family and ‘Jeannie’ by American friends.
- She was married to a man whose surname was Graiff who died young.
- Later she remarried a man with the surname Watson (he is also deceased).
- Oh, and just for the heck of it, let’s go ahead and throw in our family soprannome, ‘Cenighi’.
Using the ‘quotation mark’ and ‘parentheses’ methods, and inserting her married surnames, my poor aunt’s name might end up looking like this:
Pierina Luigia “Gina” (Jean Serafinn) “Jeannie” Serafini “Cenighi” Graiff Watson
Please DON’T do this!!
Not only is this only horribly confusing to as to what her name actually IS, but all those quotation marks and brackets can cause errors in software programmes.
The best policy is to record the person’s name AT BIRTH in the name field, and then put alternative names in the ‘also known as’ field. And, as mentioned, the husbands’ surnames stay with the husbands, not the wife.
Thus, here is how my aunt SHOULD be entered into the tree:
- NAME: Pierina Luigina Serafini
- ALSO KNOWN AS: Jean Serafinn
- SOPRANNOME: Cenighi (not in records, but via verbal info from Serafini cousins)
- HUSBAND 1: Albino Graiff
- HUSBAND 2: Gary Watson
If you really wanted, you could put additional ‘also known as’ to put her nicknames ‘Gina’ and ‘Jeannie’, but I think those are unnecessary, as we already know she was known as ‘Jean’.
Also, if you wanted (and if you knew enough information), you could write some notes about the historical origins of the soprannome in the notes for that fact in Family Tree Marker…. something I am again only just starting to integrate into my own trees. Here are some notes I’ve entered about the Cenighi soprannome:
The soprannome ‘Cenighi’ originates with Margherita Giuliani, who married Alberto Serafi