Di Giacomo — Di Giacomo is a Southern and Central Italian patronymic surname meaning 'son of Giacomo' (James) — derived from the given name Giacomo, the Italian form of James, from Hebrew Ya'akov (Jacob) through Latin Jacobus. The name was given in honour of the Apostle James, one of Christ's closest companions, whose cult at Santiago de Compostela in Spain was one of the three great medieval pilgrimages. Di Giacomo is concentrated in Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, and Lazio.
History & Origins
The Apostle James (Giacomo in Italian) was one of the twelve disciples and one of the inner circle of three — with Peter and John — who witnessed the Transfiguration. After the crucifixion, his relics were believed to have been carried to Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain, where the great pilgrimage cathedral was built over his tomb. The Camino de Santiago — the Way of Saint James — became one of the three principal medieval pilgrimages alongside Jerusalem and Rome, and the veneration of Saint James spread across Europe. In Italy, Giacomo was consistently among the most popular male given names from the medieval period through the seventeenth century.
The Abruzzese and Molisan Heartland
Di Giacomo is particularly concentrated in Abruzzo and Molise — the rugged highland regions of Central Italy east of Rome that produced extraordinary emigration rates in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The provinces of Chieti, Teramo, Pescara, and L'Aquila in Abruzzo, and Isernia and Campobasso in Molise, hold the densest concentrations. The name is also found in Lazio (Frosinone province) and in the Naples hinterland of Campania.
The Abruzzese Emigration
Abruzzo and Molise were among the most intensely emigrating regions of Italy between 1880 and 1930. Some Abruzzese communes sent a third of their entire population to the United States in this period. Di Giacomo families from these highland villages settled in the industrial cities of the American East Coast and Midwest — Pittsburgh, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts — and in the coal-mining communities of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Abruzzese-American communities of these areas have preserved their distinctly Central Italian identity within the broader Italian-American tradition.
The Di Giacomo Diaspora
Di Giacomo families are established in Italian-American communities with a distinctly Central Italian character — Pittsburgh (where the Abruzzese emigrant community is historically strong), New York, New Jersey, and New England. The spelling DiGiacomo (no space) is common in American records. Argentina and Brazil received smaller Di Giacomo communities from the Abruzzese and Campanian streams.
Genealogy Research Guide
Di Giacomo research focuses on Abruzzo (Chieti, Teramo, Pescara, L'Aquila) and Molise (Isernia, Campobasso). Always search DiGiacomo and Giacomo as variants. The State Archives of Chieti, L'Aquila, and Campobasso hold the key records. Abruzzese emigration records are particularly well-preserved; the commune of origin is essential for locating the right church and civil records. For US research, the communities of Pittsburgh, PA; Bridgeport and New Haven, CT; and Providence, RI have concentrations of Abruzzese-American Di Giacomo families.
Notable People Named Di Giacomo
- Salvatore Di Giacomo (1860–1934) — Neapolitan poet and playwright, one of the great figures of the Neapolitan literary tradition. His dialect poetry and songs are among the most beloved expressions of Neapolitan culture.
- Various Di Giacomo families of Abruzzo — Documented in Abruzzese civil and parish records, these families represent the extraordinary emigrant tradition of Central Italy's highland regions.
Related Italian Surnames
Often found in the same regions and emigration records: