Biff83: that is amazing. I didn't realize it would be that easy. Must be some great resources online. Thats really cool. Thank-you. I will contact some of my relatives to ask for their help to verify the information you provided. By the way, I will be working with Joe DiSimone for the Italian side.

I am interested in what you guys think about changing your name back to its original spelling. The story goes that the midwife accidently misspelled the last name of my grandfather when he was born in the USA. His father was "di Prenda" or DiPrenda and he became DePrenda. Some of his brothers are ...

I read somewhere that if your Grandfather was born in Italy that means my Father may apply for citizenship in Italy. Would it then be possible for him to apply his citizenship to me? I am already 38 y.o. is it too late? Fingers crossed....

Essgee: The problem is that I need some genealogical help just to get to the town in Italy. My great-father, Nicola Joseph di Prenda was born in Italy in 1882 and died in 1943 at 75 Pine Street, Montclair, NJ where he lived for most of his live with his large family. His wife was Anna Lungaro and ...

Can anyone recommend an excellent genealogist based in Southern Italy? An Italian firm or individual that someone has used or heard about. What sort of fees would be necessary? I want to learn more about the history of my surname and perhaps where my ancestors are from originally.

What are the ...

Is it easier to determine a derivation of name like where it originated and approximately in which century etc. I am interested in learning where my Italian name came from. Not necessarily the village, although that would be nice, but how it came about and when and what was the ethnicity of my ...

Does the "di" in a surname mean "of" a certain town or village? If so, then was there a place named "Prenda" not too far from present day town of Aquillonia in "ancient" (not sure when the name was created so I am not sure how ancient).