Surname change - how to discover original surnane

[EdithKennedy21]

Once again thank you for all the replies

My cousin Diane has passed on all that you have sourced re Rennie

I also now know that the lady Diane is helping  feels her Mum Doreen and her Aunts/Uncles were aware that her Grandparents has separated at some point  and made up the story of Dora dying during the War to explain her ‘widowhood’ to trll their own families

Unsure why this was necessary


She thinks it was Dora’s Father Antonio/Agostino/? who made the name change  for some reason.
Cannot confirm this

Did a little research - Reino and Rano was an Italian surname from regions of Puglia and Benevetto mainly but again I cannot say this would be the correct surname prior to Rennie becoming family name  if it was indeed changed

Bianchi was Maria’s name as official Wedding data for Dora has that entered


Great help from you all

Have a good  day 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Edith

[scotmum]

There was a wartime Act of 1914, that required foreign nationals to register with the police, then a 1919 Act which extended the purpose.  If Dora, with or without his parents, arrived in Dundee sometime after his birth (ie rather than having been born anywhere in Britain), as part of the large influx of Italian immigrants to Scotland in the late 1800s and early 1900s, It may be worthwhile asking via:

https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/service-area/corporate-services/democratic-and-legal-services/archives

if it is possible to have a search done of the following record set, which they apparently hold:

Dundee City Police registers of aliens, 1917-1949 (class TRC)

Also, this map may be helpful in narrowing down potential regions in Italy:

https://maps.nls.uk/projects/italians/

And of course, if the lady your friend is helping was willing, a DNA test may open up even more avenues of research, especially if it highlighted that she did indeed have Italian ancestry.

[EdithKennedy21]

Thanks Josephine
Much appreciated

Edith A

[Josephine]

Thanks Josephine
Much appreciated

Edith A

You're welcome, Edith. Good luck! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you all. A lot of helpful Rootschatters have given you excellent information and advice.

[EdithKennedy21]

Hi Josephine, William and everyone else who helped me

Know Helen the Granddaughter is very appreciative of everything I have received from Rootschat participants since I posted yesterday

Every snippet has been passed on and even though she now knows her Grandfather was alive until 1960 and she was unaware of this fact she is so pleased to have some clarity on her Dundee based Ancestors   


Thanks to all

Edith

[aghadowey]

This was mentioned earlier-

Am I correct in thinking that no one knows when Dora's family name was changed or who changed it (Dora, his father, his grandfather)?

What if Dora's parents stayed in Italy? If Dora's original surname was Travolta, for example, and his parents stayed in Italy, their surname would have stayed Travolta, even after Dora changed his surname to Rennie. In that case, on Dora's official documents, wouldn't his father's surname be listed as Travolta and not Rennie?

If so, father and son having the same surname on Dora's official documents suggests that his father also emigrated to Scotland or England. But has anyone found any evidence of this?

Is there another option? What if Rennie was an Anglicization of Dora's Italian surname? I've seen some records on Ancestry for people with the surname Reni living in the US, who were born in Italy. Is Reni an Italian surname? If so, might this be a possible clue?

I think it's likely, whatever the circumstances, that Dora would have given the father's surname as Rennie rather than whatever the original Italian name was. Only place he might have likely given the 'real' name is in a naturalisation record (if he did eventually become a U.K. citizen.
I wonder if 'Dora' was a form of Theodore which is Teodoro?

[EdithKennedy21]

Hi and sorry if I have ignored a post

Not intentional 

I do not know if Antonio and Maria came to Scotland with their son

Do know Dora was born in Genoa Italy now though as  cousin in Perth Scotland sourced 1921 census for the family

Could ask if Dora’s parents came with their children to Dundee or other areas of UK

Some of the links attached to posts are being explored

Thanks and apologies for not commenting on all responses

[EdithKennedy21]

Thank you to everyone for taking their own time to research and then pass on all you sourced to me regarding my Post for Dora Rennie and Helen Ryan

Helen Granddaughter of Dora and Helen has emailed me personally and wanted to pass on her many thanks for the information you have been able to source enabling her to gain a better grasp of her Scottish links and also find out exactly where Dora was born

Helen is now exploring how to find the Italian variant of surname Rennie  knowing that her Grandfather was born in Genoa


Many thanks again

Edith

[Josephine]

Have you seen the webiste for the State Archives of Genoa?
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/archivio/state-archives-of-genoa-2/?lang=en

It looks like they have digitized some registers:
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/search-registry/?archivio=173&descrizione=Archivio%20di%20Stato%20di%20Genova&lang=en