Difference MakersThe Advertising spot above is reserved for companies,people and organizations that are making a difference in the Italian and Italian American communities. It's a free spot and changes periodically. Are you making a difference? Contact me. | My name is Peppino So,my birth name is Peppino. However,everyone calls me Joe including my parents,who have always called me Joe. Let me try to explain this. Peppino is a nickname of Giuseppe and Giuseppe of course is Joseph in English. Nicknames of Giuseppe would be:Peppe,Peppino,Peppone,etc. “-ino”meaning little,“-one”meaning big. This goes for other words in the Italian language as well:bacino = small kiss,bacione = big kiss. So Joe or “little Joe”isn’t really a far stretch from Peppino…. however,sometimes difficult to explain to anyone who isn’t Italian. The first day of school each year was always fun…but not really. Then there was my 3rd grade teacher who would make me write Peppino 100 times for ever time I submitted work with “Joe”on it. I didn’t see many recesses in 3rd grade and as you can imagine,I didn’t like her very much.
I guess it’s a bit unusual to be named a nickname (on your birth certificate.) Joe instead of Joseph,Bob instead of Robert or Peppino instead of Giuseppe but for me Peppino was just another Italian name. I have 3 cousins named Peppino and of course being from Calabria (at least from the area my parents are from),it’s expected that you name your first son after your father,so my grandfather was also Peppino. - Yesterday I found one of my childhood books tucked away in a box in the basement. The book is called “Peppino”by Sita Jucker and Ursina Ziegler and tells the story of a boy named Peppino who dreams of building a home with his father Peppone and dog Tino. It’s a great children’s book and even better if your name is Peppino. The illustrations are fantastic as well. Questions I always get: - Is Joe your middle name? No it’s Michele (not Michelle…that’s another story)
- Do you know what Peppino means? Apparently in Portuguese it means cucumber…. great!
- What do your parents call you? Joe
- So where does Joe come from? See above
- Have you ever heard of Peppino the little mouse? If your name is Peppino,you’ve heard of everything that is associated with the name Peppino.
Trouble I got in: - Getting my cousin’s report card when we were in HS (lets just say he wasn’t a model student)  Leave a Reply | Heading to Calabria? Need a travel consultant,place to stay or some great ideas for what to do? Contact Bella Vita Travel Consulting in Catanzaro. | Joe Maruca welcomes you to Italyville where he writes and rants about growing up Italian in Massachusetts,his experiences living and working in Bologna,visits to the family's Olive farm in Calabria and everything along the way. In America we're considered Italian,in Italy we've become Americani... but we're always at home in Italyville. Italyville.com All Content,graphics and photos on Italyville.com are property of Italyville.com unless otherwise noted and can not be used without permission. All rights reserved. |
So,my birth name is Peppino. However,everyone calls me Joe including my parents,who have always called me Joe. Let me try to explain this. Peppino is a nickname of Giuseppe and Giuseppe of course is Joseph in English. Nicknames of Giuseppe would be:Peppe,Peppino,Peppone,etc. “-ino”meaning little,“-one”meaning big. This goes for other words in the Italian language as well:bacino = small kiss,bacione = big kiss. So Joe or “little Joe”isn’t really a far stretch from Peppino…. however,sometimes difficult to explain to anyone who isn’t Italian. The first day of school each year was always fun…but not really. Then there was my 3rd grade teacher who would make me write Peppino 100 times for ever time I submitted work with “Joe”on it. I didn’t see many recesses in 3rd grade and as you can imagine,I didn’t like her very much.
Oh.Dio.Mio. That was hilarious! They already think I am the crazy American who laughs out loud,Peppino!! Great post! I have a little Peppino,too. A man…not a cucumber! Ok. I’ll go now.
Hey Peppino,you’re blogtastic. Laughter is a great way to start the day. I love the illustration too.
‘A Tuscan View….’
I liked that and to be honest cucumber is the first thing I thought when I heard Peppino because Pepino means cucumber in Spanish,too
Thanks Martha…that’s 2 cultures that think me a cucumber.:)
OH this is great. I have a friend in Florence named Giuseppe,I have yet to call him Beppe,like everyone else does…I just call him caro…That is a great story though,to have name that has such a profound impact on you.
Cheers!
[...] my favorite posts aren’t touching or nostalgic,but just downright funny,as is the case with My Name is Peppino,by Joe of ItalyVille:I’m actually still laughing about the post as I write this up-which [...]
Hello Joe! Or should I call you Peppino? My name is Margie. I am a 33 year old American girl. I was born and raised in Kentucky,but I currently live in Cincinnati,OH with my boyfriend,Dario,who was born and raised in Italy. He is 40 years old and has lived in America since 1999. He has a permanent green card,and he loves America. He has a PhD in computer science from the University of Milan,and works as an IT ninja (as I like to call it). He is a great guy,but he has no family in America at all,and I think he gets very homesick sometimes. I am trying to learn how to speak Italian,but I was wondering what else I could do to make our home more “Italian”. I don’t want him to think that I have no interest in his culture. However,I did say ok when we were discussing baby names for our future children and he said if we have a boy he would like to name him “Giuseppe”after his Father.
Any thoughts on what else I could do???
-Margie