Cognome

Potenza

The strongest concentration of Potenza in US arrival records points to Basilicata, with 83 of 171 arrivals (49 percent) originating there.

171

US arrivals
1830 to 1912

57

Comuni of
origin

11

Regioni
represented

5

Notable on
Wikipedia

Arrivals by regioneN = 171
Abruzzo: 7 arrivalsPuglia: 36 arrivalsBasilicata: 83 arrivalsCalabria: 7 arrivalsCampania: 23 arrivalsLazio: 1 arrivalsLombardia: 1 arrivalsMolise: 3 arrivalsPiemonte: 2 arrivalsSicilia: 7 arrivalsVeneto: 1 arrivals

Top regione

Basilicata

83 of 171
49 percent of arrivals

Arrivals
0
< 2
2 to 8
8 to 25
25+

Cittadinanza per discendenza

Could your Potenza line qualify for Italian citizenship?

The largest share of Potenza arrivals came from Basilicata, most often from the provincia of Potenza. If one of them is your ancestor, Italy may recognize you as a citizen under jure sanguinis (citizenship by descent).

The surname alone does not decide it. Each generation between that ancestor and you does: who naturalized, and when. Since the 2025 law, the number of generations matters too.

The checker goes back through your line one generation at a time. It is not legal advice, and it does not search for records.

Check your line
Your lineYou fill this in

Italian-born ancestor

A Potenza from Basilicata

Most often from Potenza (PZ)

Each generation between

Name and dates

Did this person naturalize before their child was born?

You

A likely outcome

and the documents your line would need

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Distribuzione per regione

Concentration by regione

11 regioni represented

  • Basilicata8349%
  • Puglia3621%
  • Campania2313%
  • Calabria74%
  • Abruzzo74%
  • Sicilia74%
  • Molise32%
  • Piemonte21%
  • Veneto11%
  • Lazio11%
  • Lombardia11%

Origini per comune

Arrival records by comune

Each row is a comune (municipality) where at least one passenger named Potenza was recorded between 1830 and 1912.

Persone notevoli

Notable Potenza on Wikipedia

Varianti grafiche

Spelling variants worth checking

  • The spelling you know may not be the one in the records. For example, a family remembers Mansini, but the records read Mancini.
  • If your spelling does not appear, a close variant in the list below may be the same family.

Related guide

Myths About Name Changes at Ellis Island

Names were never changed at the border. The spelling here is the original Italian: Giovinelli in the records, perhaps Jovanelli in the family today.

Read guide

Potenzano

3 US arrivals

Potenzani

1 US arrivals

Potenzo

2 US arrivals

Potenzie

2 US arrivals

Potenzio

1 US arrivals

Variants are surfaced from the surname index, not from per-name research. None of these is guaranteed to be the same family as Potenza.