ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2631
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2631
************************************

11 Mar 2003
From: Marianne Perdomo Machin 


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked about an appropriate name for a man living in southern 
Italy, preferably around the islands near Sicily, during the period 
1300-1600. You were interested in the names <Othello> and <Niccola>, 
and the surname <da Lipari>. This letter summarizes our findings.


<Othello> is an English form of an Italian name, <Ottello>. The 
combination <th> is quite rare in Italian, so <Othello> is unlikely to 
have been used in Italian. We have not found <Ottello> as a period 
Italian name, but we have found <Oddo> or <Otto>, the root name, and 
other derivative forms during your period: <Ottobono>, <Ottolino>, 
<Ottino>, <Ottone> [2, 3, 4, 5]. <Odello>, <Ottela>, and <Ottonello> 
are all in use in modern Italy, mostly in the north [1]. The 
diminutive ending <-ello> was used in the south in names like 
<Antonello> and <Giovanello> [6], so <Ottello> seems entirely 
plausible. In Italy it would be pronounced as \oht-TEL-loh\.


Regarding the name <Niccola>, both <Nicola> and <Niccola> were used by 
men and women in our period and continue to be so used today [7]. 
We've seen the name mostly spelled with one <c> in period sources [8, 
9]. In some areas at least the form <Niccolo> was more common [10].


<Lipari> is an island just north of Sicily [11]. A medieval man from 
there might have been known as <da Lipari> or <de Lipari> -- we've 
seen both forms in southern Italian sources [6].


In short, we believe that <Ottello da Lipari> is an entirely plausible 
name for a southern Italian man of your period. <Nicola da Lipari> 
would be an even better choice, but we can't tell you whether it was 
more likely to be spelled <c> or <cc> in your region, or if <Niccolo> 
would be a more appropriate choice.

We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part 
of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted 
in researching and writing this letter by Maridonna Benvenuti, Arval 
Benicoeur and Aryanhwy merch Catmael.

For the Academy,

   Leonor Martin
   11 Mar 2003

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
References:

[1] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei cognomi italiani_ (Arnoldo 
Mondadori Editore, 1978), s.n. Oddo.

[2] Examples in southern Italy include <Nikolaos Odo> 1063 in Lucania;
<Johannes de Oddone> 1269, <Ottini> and <Ottone>.  Rohlfs, Gerhard,
_Dizionario dei Cognomi e Soprannomi in Calabria (Ravenna: A. Longo,
1978), pp.192, 194.

[3] We found <Otto> and <Ottobono> in use in Renaissance Florence.
Herlihy, David, R. Burr Litchfield, and Anthony Molho, "Florentine 
Renaissance Resources: Online Tratte of Office Holders 1282-1532" 
(WWW: Brown University, Providence, RI, 2000). 
http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/tratte/

[4] We have found the name <Oddo> in Arezzo.
Aryanhwy merch Catmael , _Names from Arezzo, Italy, 1386-1528_ (WWW: 
Sara L. Friedemann, 2003)

[5] The Online Catasto includes the names <Otto> and <Ottolino> in 
15th century Florence.
Ferrante laVolpe, _Men's names from Florence, 1427_ (WWW: 
Self-published, 1996; J. Mittleman, 1999). 
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ferrante/catasto/

[6] Examples from the 15th and 16th centuries are: <Antonello>, 
<Colacello>, <Marcello>, <Giovanello> and <Jacopello>. In the early 
17th century we find <Franceschiello>.
Maridonna Benvenuti, _Southern Italian Names from Dizionario dei 
Cognomi e Soprannomi in Calabria_ (WWW: Andrea Hicks, 2001).
http://www.maridonna.com/onomastics/Southern%20Italian%20Names/SITN_INTRO.htm

[7] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei nomi italiani_ (Arnoldo 
Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1992), s.n. Nicola.

[8] We found a <Nicola> in the 14th century, two in the 15th century, 
one in the 16th and 17th centuries, and a <Giovan Nicola> in the 15th 
century.
Maridonna Benvenuti, op. cit.

[9] Related spellings from Calabria:
14th C. Niccolo - 1, Nicola - 1, (Nicholaus - 1, Nicolaus - 1)
15th C. Nicola - 2, Nicolo - 1
16th C. Nicola - 1, (Nicolaus - 4)
17th C. Nicola - 1

Rohlfs, Gerhard, _Dizionario dei Cognomi e Soprannomi in Calabria 
(Ravenna: A. Longo, 1978).

[10] In this data <Ni\ccolo> is found 47 times and <Nicola> 3; 
<Ni\ccolo> is the second most popular name in the data set.
Aryanhwy merch Catmael , op. cit.

[11] Maridonna Benvenuti, "Mercator's Place Names of Italy in 1554" 
(WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2001). 
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/maridonna/mercator/