52 Ancestors Week 24: Popular Name

 Week 24's theme is "Popular Name." Do you have an ancestor who had a name that was popular/trendy at the time? Is there a name that keeps getting used in your family tree? Do you have an ancestor named after someone famous?

I wonder if it's too late to buy "The Big Book of Baby Names".

    Certain names appear many times in family trees. I can't tell you how many times I've found a "Giuseppe" or a "Jacques" somewhere in my own family tree. We'd be here all week and still barely scratch the first few pages of the "Big Book of Baby Names". Our ancestors certainly had a thing for certain names because they were either passed down through each generation or they were the name of some fictional character. For example, a friend of mine named his son "Bruce Wayne". I'll give you one guess what that is a reference to. ;) I still wish he named his son "Gotham" just so he could say to his wife "Gotham needs you" when the kid starts crying.

      My own grandfather, Robert Hamel, even got in on the act as my uncle Bob and my cousin, Robbie, were both named after him. For details, I invite you all to check out this blog from 2019 where I discussed how generations of men in the family were named "Robert Eugene". In the end, I came to the conclusion that the  name "Eugene" was simply honoring my 2nd great-grandfather, Eugene Hamel.

    That was a pretty reasonable explanation, right? Like I said. Sometimes people like certain names and just want to keep the name going for centuries. Though, I have to wonder something. What are future generations going to make of children with the names of characters from "Game of Thrones"? Grandma Daenerys might have some stories for you. Right after she tends to the dragons, of course. I wonder if she went out with that nice Tyrion kid down the street. His family sends their regards. Kids with pop culture names are going to have very interesting stories to talk about. That's for sure! "No, seriously. My name really is Peter Parker!" Yeah. Tell that to the DMV.

    I guess now would be a good time to discuss popular names on the Italian side of the tree. It's only fair. I do have one name that pops up very frequently. The name is "Concetta" and I see it everywhere on the  Ferraiolo and Coppola side of the tree. It's almost as popular as the name "Paolo". Almost....

    I suppose the first time I ever saw the name Concetta was in relation to my 2nd great-grandmother, Caterina's sister. Concetta was born in 1882 and like her brothers Giovanni and Paolo, she moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts.  My great-aunt called her "Aunt Zia" and has many fond memories of her as they lived pretty close to each other.

    Concetta and her husband, Vincenzo Papatola, had a daughter with the same name as her mother. Unfortunately, she died barely a month after she was born. She was the last child born to that family. However, she wasn't the last "Concetta". Not by a longshot. When I discovered that Concetta, I initially thought nothing of it and moved on. Looking back, that was a rookie mistake! 

    I really should have known better. Concetta had two siblings who came to America around the same time. Did they have girls named "Concetta", too? Yes. Yes they did!

The Coppolas!

    Born in 1915 to Giovanni Coppola and Natalina Marinaro, Concetta Coppola, seen on the far right on this photo, married Guido Thomas Pitocchelli and lived in nearby Lawrence, Mass. She helped her husband run the Pitocchelli funeral home and lived a very long life as she passed away in September of 2007. I really wish I could have met her. I bet she had some amazing stories. Sadly, times change and families unfortunately drift apart. It's sad. But, it happens.

    Meanwhile, Concetta's sister, Angelina, married a man named Giovanni Procopio and as you might have guessed they had a daughter named Concetta  who was born in 1920. Getting tired of all the Concettas yet? We still have a few more to go! There's a reasonable explanation for all of this and the answer won't surprise you if you're familiar with Italian naming conventions.

I wonder how many times I've
used this pic.....

    For a while I thought Paolo was the odd man out. He had sixteen children with two wives. Did he have a daughter named Concetta, too? Yes, he did! She was born in 1931 and she's actually the only one I know the least about. This is due to the fact that at the time of this blog's posting, Concetta could still be very much alive and in her early '90s.

    For privacy reasons, I'm not including a link to her profile on WikiTree. She is on my tree on Ancestry and I have very little information on her save for the following tidbits:

1. She married a man named Roger Powers who passed away in 1996.

2. They had at least one son who unfortunately passed away in 1982.

    That's about it. I'm making a point to ask my Coppola cousins if they know anything about Concetta or her whereabouts. I'd love to talk to her. Fingers crossed, everyone!

    That just about does it for America. Let's head back to Europe where things are about to go full circle.

Healthy living in Switzerland. Can't beat that!

    Say hello to Concetta Ferraiolo, daughter of Marco Ferraiolo and Caterina Coppola. She was born in San Pietro a Maida on October 9th, 1912 and lived a very long life. Longevity seems to run in the family because she passed away in March of 2005! Can you imagine all the things she has seen?! It boggles the mind thinking about it. I think about her life and Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" pops in my head.

    My cousin Caterina told me about her mother and how she married a man named Giuseppe Aleardi before leaving for Switzerland. Concetta also made it a point to keep in touch with various family members near and far. My great-grandfather Vincenzo went to her daughter's wedding in 1969 and that ended up being his last trip to Europe. She even kept in contact with her sister, Caterina, who had moved to Buenos Aires with her husband, Lorenzo Astorino. Family was clearly very important to her and I wonder if she knew about the many Concettas in America. Spoilers: She probably did.

   At long last I bet you're all wondering where the name Concetta came from in my family. It just so happens to be the first name of my fourth great-grandmother, Concetta Nistico who was born in San Pietro a Maida around 1814. I don't really know much about her save for the fact that she married a man named Giuseppe Suverato and had at least four children including my third great-grandmother, Rosa. More research is clearly needed.

    Judging by all the Concettas in the tree, you can safely say that this is a textbook case of following the Italian naming conventions. Here's how it works. Concetta Nistico was the great-grandmother of Caterina, Paolo, Giovanni and Concetta. There is no disputing that fact and while Paolo, Giovanni and Concetta did their own thing when it comes to naming their children, it's really Marco and Caterina who really stuck with it like so:

* The first male is named after his paternal grandfather. (Vincenzo.)

* The second male is named after his maternal grandfather. (Paolo)

* The first female is named after her paternal grandmother. (Caterina)

* The second female is named after her maternal grandmother. (Rosa)

    Concetta appears to be the odd name out. How did the name enter into the equation if naming conventions are that strict? Well, here's the thing. After so many children are born, names of various other relatives would be used. The parents would end up naming their children after saints, characters in literature or even other ancestors. That's likely what happened here. I could be wrong, though. Maybe they just liked the name? It is a pretty solid Italian name.

    I have so many names in my tree that are just as popular as "Concetta". Paolo is one. What's really interesting is how I have "Anthony" on both sides of my tree and in different languages: French and Italian. I think that should be a topic for another blog. And both are at the second great-grandparent level!! Weird. In the mean time, I think I am going to talk to my Coppola cousins about the Concettas and see if they know anything. It's a popular name. I hope I covered them all!

See ya next time!

Editor's note: In April of 2023, I found that Giovanni Coppola was not the brother of Paolo, Caterina and Concetta Coppola. He is likely a first cousin of the three. Look for details in a future blog post.