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ArchivesRe: Mattero?
in reply to a message by starxcrossed
This name doesn't appear to exist in present-day Italy, though Mattera does and is well represented in Naples.
Explanations of the word Mattero I have found;
i) Club or cudgel
ii) (historic) small javelin
iii)"Ramo di orniello usato per intrecciare ceste." I think this means a type of wood (mountain-ash?) used in basket-making.
So perhaps a maker or carrier of cudgels, or someone involved in basket-weaving, or supplying the materials for it. I wouldn't bother with the javelin.
Mattera is another name without a satisfactory explanation; it may be from the Southern Italian town of Matera, or it may be from a dialect word for kneading dough (denoting a baker?).
Explanations of the word Mattero I have found;
i) Club or cudgel
ii) (historic) small javelin
iii)"Ramo di orniello usato per intrecciare ceste." I think this means a type of wood (mountain-ash?) used in basket-making.
So perhaps a maker or carrier of cudgels, or someone involved in basket-weaving, or supplying the materials for it. I wouldn't bother with the javelin.
Mattera is another name without a satisfactory explanation; it may be from the Southern Italian town of Matera, or it may be from a dialect word for kneading dough (denoting a baker?).
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Replies
Ironically, my family does own a bakery in Worcester, Massachusetts and has been there for a long time. (Mattero's Bakery, anyone?)
A history teacher once told my class that when some people immigrated to the U.S. their last names had to be shortened or changed slightly to make it more "American" and not as "foreign." Do you think that could've happened in my family's case?
Thanks for the information! =]
A history teacher once told my class that when some people immigrated to the U.S. their last names had to be shortened or changed slightly to make it more "American" and not as "foreign." Do you think that could've happened in my family's case?
Thanks for the information! =]
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Well, it doesn't look like your name has been shortened, and a change from Mattera to Mattero would not make it more "American". If the change did occur it was probably no more than a slip of the pen. But now that Mino S. has produced evidence of the existence of the name Mattero in present-day Italy, it's probably safe to accept that as the original form.
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