What country does my last name come from?

Question

My last name is Svezia and I was wondering if anybody knew what country it country. And also how you found out.

Answer 1

It's a Scandinavian word that means "Swedish". Even Italy uses "Svezia" for "Swedish". So I don't know how many countries were in between because Sweden itself doesn't use the name in its own borders, but at some time in history your family was probably Swedish and went to live somewhere else. They weren't a country that used hereditary surnames until the last 200 years, so lacking a surname they were probably referred to as "The Swedes"...hence "Svezia".

Here are some resources that can help you:

http://www.lib.umn.edu/libdata/page_prin...

http://www.castlegarden.org

http://www.ellisisland.org

http://www.northpark.edu/home/index.cfm?...

Answer 2

I used ancestry.com and checked census records. The earliest I find the name is in 1920. John and wife Louisa live in NY, both were born in Italy, and came to the US in 1908. Their children were born in the US.  Louisa's mother Filomenina Gazetta lives with the family.

On the surface, it might seem to conflict with the info from G's mom. In fact, both can be accurate, because the origin of a NAME is very often NOT the same as where the person(s) themselves originated.  Or.. the name itself is probably Swedish.. but somewhere, apparently migrated to Italy, then to the US.  G's mom is highly skilled, and I am normally behind what she says/ knows.  But, it underscores a process that is often not understood.