Decoding (my) Sephardic Heritage: Name Game, Exhibit A

I recently discovered that I'm likely of Jewish blood. Which is to say, my ancestors may have originated in Israel. Long Story. [Seriously long: I might even jump back to King David.]

Today, I begin my treatise on Sephardic Portuguese family names.

My father's family are likely relatively recent converts to Catholicism. The name Vazao is one of a kind. Translation: safety valve in a water system (read: sewer) created to prevent rupture. Used idiomatically -- dar vazao a-- to vent (potentially explosive) volatile thoughts. With a name like that, who would not muck-rake?

I traced Vazao @ NY Public Library Jewish genealogy room to Varzao, and then Varsano. The Italian s sounds the same as the Portuguese z. The name is registered @ Synagogue in Pulia, on the heal of Italy, along the Adriatic, and may trace back to Salonika (Thessalonia) in Macedonia/Greece, a major Jewish hot spot, aka, the Jerusalem of the Balkans.

Future Posts Watch:
"The Italian Connection," which includes comment re: Fellini film, Amarcord, one of the only instances I know of where the name "Aldina" figures prominently. Btw, my "naming" ceremony story reads like a passage from the Bible, w/ some light comedy swirled in. My godfather was a real life-of-the party L'CHAIM kind of guy. Yes, this tale just gets weirder and weirder.