Italian for Genealogists

Here are a few basic Italian words used for genealogy. I thought it would be useful to have them all in one place.

Ancestors  Antenati
Genealogy  Genealogia

The basic types of records are:
Births...Nascite
Deaths...Morti
Marriages...Matrimoni


Italian Numbers
1 uno
2 due
3 tre
4 quattro
5 cinque
6 sei
7 sette
8 otto
9 nove
10 dieci
11 undici
12 dodici
13 tredici
14 quattordici
15 quindici
16 sedici
17 diciassette
18 diciotto
19 diciannove
20 venti
21 ventuno

22 ventidue

23 ventitre'

24 ventiquattro

25 venticinque
26 ventisei 

27 ventisette

28 ventiotto

29 ventinove

30 trenta

40 quaranta

50 cinquanta

60 sessanta

70 settanta

80 ottanta

90 novanta

100 cento

Italian Months (not usually capitalized)

January gennaio
February febbraio
March marzo
April aprile
May maggio
June giguno
July luglio
August agosto
September settembre
October ottobre
November novembre
December dicembre


di in front of a name indicates living
du in front of a name indicates deceased


bambino...male baby

bambina...female baby

convivente...cohabitant

daughter...figlia

father...padre

female...femina

husband...marito

male...maschio, maschile

midwife...ostericia, levantrice

mother...madre

single...celibe, nubile

son...figlio

spouse...cogiuge

wife...moglie

If you have any others please let me know and I will be happy to add them.

Here are some basic facts:
Italian women keep their maiden names for life, and do not take their husband's last name.
Records often give a baby's first name only, but if the father is listed, the last name is inferred.
Ages, occupations, and places of residence are usually given for all people on the form, and usually in that order.
Records begin with the date at the top, which is the date the info was reported to the town official, and not necessarily the date of the event.
Births had to be reported within three days, and the official had to actually see the child.
There had to be witnesses for all events.



Buona fortuna nella tua ricerca (Good luck in your search)

(Good luck in your search)