The origin of Italian surnames dates back from the end of the 1500s when parish priests were required to register parishioners with their Christian names and surnames in order to stop marriages between blood relatives.

Surnames come from different sources: first names, nicknames, geographic locations, professions, objects and titles, but each Italian region has adopted some types more than others with different spelling variations. Tracing these sources and variations is part of genealogical research and unveils an important part of family history and Italian heritage.

A foreign woman who married an Italian citizen before April 27, 1983 automatically acquired Italian citizenship. (Law n. 555/1912 granted Italian citizenship by marriage to women only). Law n.91 of February 5, 1992 states that the male or female (foreign or stateless) spouse of an Italian citizen may apply for Italian citizenship after he/she has legally resided in Italy for at least six months, or after three years from the date of marriage if he/she resides abroad.

There are two procedures depending on the sex of the applicant and the marriage date:

In order to start a research project onsite in Italy or to order Italian vital records, you need to have some essential information of your ancestor/s who left Italy, specifically:

• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• EXACT Town of Birth (all family documents in Italy are only maintained in the EXACT town where the person was born)
• Parents' Names (if available)

If you don’t have this information, you need to research the following sources:

Qualification Requirements: Your great-grandfather or great-grandmother was born in the United States or a country other than Italy, his or her parent (your great-great-grandparent) was born in Italy and was an Italian citizen at the time of your grandparent’s birth(*), and neither you, your parent, your grandparent, nor your great-grandparent ever renounced Italian citizenship.

Qualification Requirements: Your grandfather or grandmother was born in the United States or a country other than Italy, his or her parent (your great-grandparent) was born in Italy and was an Italian citizen at the time of your grandparent’s birth (*), and neither you, your parent, nor your grandparent ever renounced Italian citizenship.