Diviani
One-Name Study

Topics

• About the Diviani One-Name Study
• Origin of the surname
• Historical occurrences
• Frequency of the name
• Distribution of the name
• Data
• Links
• Contact Details

About the Diviani One-Name Study

Since 1991 I have been researching all worldwide occurencies of my maiden surname of Diviani.

A family reunion was held in 2003 in Campello, Switzerland attended by members and descendants of the various branches of the Diviani family located as a consequence of the Diviani research.

Parish registers for the villages of Calpiogna and Campello have been transcribed and copies deposited in archives in Switzerland and with the Society of Genealogists in London.

Origin of the surname

DIVIANI is a Swiss Italian name originating from the Leventina Valley (just south of the St. Gottard Pass, on the Italian side of the Swiss Alps) in the Southern part of Switzerland called Ticino.

Ticino is the most southerly Canton in Switzerland and borders Italy. Its religion is mainly Catholic and the first language is Italian, although French, German and a local dialect are spoken too.

Historical occurrences

The earliest known mention of the family name of Diviani is made in 1610 regarding brothers Giovanni and Pietro (John & Peter) d’Iviano of Fontanedo (Ticino, Switzerlandand) their grazing rights in a nearby village. Fontanedo was the major settlement for the Divianis in the 1600’s; a small (and now derelict) village near the town of Faido in the Leventina valley. In 1630 the Plague came to Faido and the families moved higher up the mountain to Campello, part of the Commune of Calpiogna, almost 4,500ft above sea level, to escape the disease. The village of Fontanedo continued to be occupied until the early 1800’s, when it was abondoned.

Frequency of the name

The name of Diviani is quite rare. In the 1803 Swiss census for the Commune of Calpiogna only 39 adult males of the name were listed (females and children were not enumerated). The 1881 census for England reveals 25 Diviani members of the family living in London.

I estimate there are now less than 100 living people worldwide who bear the Diviani surname.

Distribution of the name

• 16th-18th century :Switzerland, France and Italy
• 19th century : Switzerland, France, Italy & England
• 20th century : Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Scotland, Argentina, Australia, South Africa
• 21st century : Switzerland, France, England, Argentina, Sweden, South Africa

Data

An extensive computer database, using the Personal Ancestral File software developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), has been built up and contains entries for over 4,500 individuals.

Material has been gathered from :-

• Parish records, monumental inscriptions and the 1803 and 1808 census for Calpiogna and Campello in Switzerland
• Registrar General records 1837 to date (England and England)
• English census of 1841,1851,1861,1871,1881,1891,1901
• Post office Directories (19th & 20th century)
• British Telephone Directories
• Various miscellaneous archives worldwide and also from family members

All this information has been linked together to provide unique information regarding the individual family branches within the Diviani family.

Links

www.diviani.org

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Mrs Corrinne A Goodenough
11 Wyndham Lane,
Allington,
Salisbury,
Wiltshire
SP4 OBY
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail:

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