The border effect in surname structure: an Italian-Slovenian case study.

Population surname structure in northeastern Italy municipalities, in which small Slovenian-speaking groups are present, are compared with neighboring populations of both Italian and Slovenian nationality. In the early 20th century those municipalities were part of the Italian territory and underwent a massive Italianization process that led to the mutation of the original Slovenian surnames into a derived Italian form. In order to track surname relationships among the examined communities, two different similarity analyses were performed: the first using the surnames as they are recorded in the Italian and Slovenian official telephone directories, and the second restoring the Italianized Slovenian surnames to their original form and then recalculating the populations' similarity. Both comparisons evidence a separation that depends on nationality, which is less marked after restoring surnames to their original form. Geographical elements, older historical events, and socioeconomic traits allow interpretation of these results.

Distribution of surnames over the Alto Adige-Südtirol region according to local geographic, historical and linguistic features.

This paper aims at analysing the distribution of surnames over the Alto Adige-Südtirol, which is an Italian alpine sub-region coinciding with the province of Bolzano-Bozen. Two thirds of the Alto Adige-Südtirol inhabitants are German mother-tongue, whereas the remaining one third is Italian mother-tongue. There is also a minority represented by Ladin-speaking people. Analyses were carried out using a similarity index between different populations, resulting from heads of family surnames distribution over the area. The specificity of the most frequent surnames was also studied. Mapping of surnames took place at municipality level. Municipality populations were grouped according to their valley of residence and territorial geologic and morphological features. The results were interpreted also in the light of historical events and the presence of specific languages or dialects. The geographic neighbourhood, the geo-morphological features of the territory and the easy individual mobility are the main elements for the relations among people living in the valleys of Alto Adige-Südtirol. The ancient ethno-historical substratum is detectable in the spread of the specific languages and dialects, nevertheless it does not play a discriminative role in the above mentioned relations. The socio-economic factors have contributed both to root the autochthonous people in certain places and to modify the structure of surnames in some valleys.

Distribution of surnames and linguistic-cultural identities in Western Slovenia.

The following study compares the distribution of surnames in the populations of Western Slovenian municipalities, which were part of the Italian state until the end of the Second World War. The analyses have been carried out firstly by assessing the similarity of different populations to one another so as to verify possible aggregations; secondly, by figuring these relationships of similarity in a representation through unrooted tree (NJ); finally, by applying spatial autocorrelation to the distribution of surnames in the territory so as to highlight possible processes in the diffusion of people in the area under examination. On the whole, it seems likely that the population living in the area is geographically quite stable, although some differences may be noted depending both on the geography of the territory, particularly in the northern part, and on peculiar historical and socioeconomic conditions, which at the same time have characterized and modified the demographic structure of some of these municipalities.

Distribution of surnames and linguistic-cultural identities of the Slovenian and German minorities of northeastern Italy.

In this study we have compared the structure of surnames of Slovenian and German (Carinthian) minorities of northeastern Italy with other municipalities of the neighbourhood. The analysis has been carried out by using estimates of the similarities between populations and the topological representation obtained by them, as well as the spatial autocorrelation. On the whole, this research shows some distinctions which depend on the territorial geography, especially in the mountainous area. Moreover, movements of individuals in the limited zones of the plain are evident, probably due to socioeconomic conditions, the moving of the people and their change of dwelling. Finally, it is probable that different Slovenian dialects generated characteristic structures of surnames which were well preserved in the most peripherical municipalities of the territory.

Brief communication: coexistence of two distinct patterns in the surname structure of Sicily.

The extent of variation in the migratory movements that occurred in Sicily was evaluated using surname data taken from the telephone directories of the 390 communes of the island. The surname distribution of each commune was linearized by a log-log transformation, and a significant fit to a linear regression model was found in almost all cases. Interestingly, the slope of the regression line appeared to be a sensitive indicator of the different level of isolation associated with each Sicilian commune. By this approach, two distinct groups of communes, showing a higher or lower degree of isolation, were obtained, and two independent analyses of the surname structure of Sicily were carried out. A first multidimensional scaling analysis, based on the more isolated communes, yielded evidence for a more ancient pattern, characterized by a geographical gradient along the east-west axis. The same analysis, addressed to the less isolated communes, instead highlighted a wide network of interactions between geographically distant zones of the island. The fitting of the surname distribution to the log-log model allowed for the detection of a narrow subset of 35 Sicilian communes, whose significantly higher degree of isolation was statistically proved by the parallelism test. We believe that a genetic analysis focused on such specific zones of the island could reveal ancient patterns of differentiation, thus helping to answer the controversial question of the genetic history of Sicily.

Isonymy and the genetic structure of Albanian populations.

It is well known that in systems of surname transmission through the paternal line, surnames simulate neutral gene alleles belonging to the Y chromosome. This property of surnames was used to analyze the genetic structure of Albanian populations. Two large samples of surnames belonging to two different periods of time were analyzed. The analysis of indicators of population structure showed that geographical distance has an important effect on surname distribution. It seems that isolation by distance and genetic drift have been still important factors in the determination of the genetic structure of the Albanian population.

Distribution of surnames and identities in the Cimbro-Mòcheno communities of Italy.

The surnames of populations of the municipalities with Cimbro and Mòcheno origins are compared with each other and with other municipalities of the neighbourhood. This study starts from the supposition that a community of surnames shares a common cultural origin, maintained by reciprocal mobility. The analysis has been carried out by using estimates of the similarities between populations, the topological representations obtained by them and the spatial autocorrelation. On the whole, this research shows no evidence of peculiar distinctions between the populations that share Cimbro and Mòcheno origins compared to the neighbouring ones. Moreover, there is not any evident process of undifferentiated diffusion along all the directions. On the contrary, it is emphasized that belonging to the same geographic region and to the same administrative subdivision mostly influences the similarity between populations. The exception is the Cimbro municipality of Luserna, which presents a peculiar structure of surnames different from other municipalities of the same territory.