GinaFashioni wrote:It may have been Marianna - but on her my Grandads birth cert. it says Mariantonia.The problem was that all my ancestors were illiterate and so I think the priests just guessed the spellings! That is why when my Dad was born the priest spelt our surname phonetically, so we became Fashioni's! Are you on face book? If so we can make friends!
Yes, that is definitely a factor! Also the language barrier. I know lots of relatives, even today, who have a problem speaking to those who don't speak Italian. My grandmom Lucia used to have a drawing pad that she kept with her because she couldn't understand or speak English; if the person didn't understand Italian, she'd draw a photo to explain what she was talking about. I'm so thankful that I'm bilingual.
The Italian priest didn't 'guess' the spellings. He wrote what he heard. The Italian language is phonetic. He name might have been Marianna but she might always have been called Mariantonia. The priest must have been American to spell your surname like that.