My uncle was known to all of us as Uncle Billy; William to my grandmother. But the 1930 US Census has him listed as Pelino. I can not find this as a first name anywhere except on some other censuses. Is this a nickname for something else? Or is this a real name?

DMD-Boston wrote:

My uncle was known to all of us as Uncle Billy; William to my grandmother. But the 1930 US Census has him listed as Pelino. I can not find this as a first name anywhere except on some other censuses. Is this a nickname for something else? Or is this a real name?

Take a look at this page.

There is a Saint Pelino, who was a Bishop in Brindisi in the 7th century.

Hi,
the name Pelino is concentrated in the Abruzzo region and comes from a martyr: Saint Pelino. Origins of this name are uncertain, might reconnect to Peligni(Paeligni), an ancient Italic population in the Abruzzo region.

Ada

The Pelino surname is not listed in the Italian surname dictionary as being Italian and is either Local in origin or imported from abroad and italianized. However, There is no record for Pelino in other parts of the world making it quite probable that surname is local in origin and as often occurs was once a nickname,becoming a first name and later became a last name or surname.

Since the name is Pelino, a diminutive spelling meaning refined or fine then it may be possible that its opposite maybe Pelone which in the Italian word dictionary means a coarse kind of cloth making Pelino a refined or improved cloth. But this is conjecture and anecdotal. =Peter=

Pelino is a first name not a surname!

Ada

The inquirer said he could not find Pelino as a first name and made no mention of any surname. In any event this is the normal sequence..nickname, firstname and surname for most familynames. There are 21 comune in Italy having persons listed as Pelino for the surname.=Peter=

Dear DMD Boston,
can you please tell us if you were looking for a first name or a surname? I understood you wanted to know if Pelino existed as a first name. And it does exist. Thank you.

Ada

Peter has already stated:

Quote::

inquirer said he could not find Pelino as a first name and made no mention of any surname.

The poster has enough information to make an informed decision regarding the name, As a first name or the further insight as a surname.

It is unfair to the poster to turn this topic into a debate.

Unless the poster has any further questions, I think we can close the subject.
wldspirit

good job Lee!!, this thread was getting ugly. What are we going to do with these kids eh? lol

Get Nuccia and her slippers!!
wldspirit

Sorry I missed this..slippers in the wash!

Then we're all safe for now...no need to duck!!
Lee

Thanks all...I have been out of town and apologize for not clearing matters up sooner.

Pelino was in the census as my uncle's first name. The last name was DiLillo. And my amily is from Abruzzo, so Uantiti is on track. I could never find any listing for the name either, which is why I thought it might be known, perhaps only locally, as a nickname.

Thanks once again to all who responded.

Dean

Pelino is used both as a first name and as a last name. In both cases, the name is used only by people who come from Abruzzo in Italy.

A famous use of the name as a last name is for "Confetti Mario Pelino", a candy company in Sulmona.

As a first name, it is most closely related to Saint Pelino of Confinio.

All of these places are in the Vallata Peligna (the Valley of the Peligni), which is the ancient home of the Peligni tribe, whose capital was Corfinium (now Confinio), located in the valley.