The name Nichols?

Question

My family came to the US from Italy, but my grandfather's name was Nichols, he was born in Italy but has a non Italian name, is he not Italian?

Answer 1

This is what www.ancestry.com has to say about the name,

Nichols Name Meaning and History

English and Dutch: patronymic from Nichol.

Jewish (American): Americanized form of any of various like-sounding Jewish names.

hope this helps.

Answer 2

common explanation in this section.

Since he was born in Italy, that makes him an Italian citizen by birth (not discussing what he did afterwards).  When speaking in genealogical thinking.. the critical things are going to go back to his parents and his ancestry. I'm going to guess that his father (grandfather.. someone in his paternal side) came from elsewhere to Italy. For example, an Englishman, moved to Italy, married there, and had children. If the wife was of Italian ancestry, then he has both English and Italian background.

People tend to forget- what someone is/ isn't... is defined differently by nationality (I am American born, and a citizen), but in genealogy, we always are looking for heritage and background.  From that view, I am of Polish background.

Everything in genealogy is broader.  It is not an "either/or" answer.  You need to know his ancestry, to find where his surname originated and when.