My mother's parents came from Rzeszow, Poland and her maiden name was "DATA". I've been told by a few people that the name DATA is actually of Italian Origin. I know back in the 16th century there was an Italian Queen Bona Sforza who married a Polish King. She brought along her cooks, artists, etc. Can you shed any light on this? I met a woman one of the geneaological sites, who told me she is a DATA and her family came from Piedmont region of Italy, Forno Canavese region (near Turin). I checked with a few other people and there are many DATA's there. Curious to know if I do have Italian origins on this side.

Hi,
your surname sounds Italian. Actually there are several people with that surname in Forno Canavese (once called Forno Rivara) in Piedmont, province of Turin. A small portion of Forno Canavese is called DATA and people with that surname come from there.
I think you should search in Poland for your roots and see if they go back to the 16th century and are connected to someone who followed Queen Bona Sforza. It looks very difficult to start from Italy and find who left from Forno Canavese to go to Poland 500 years ago. Many people left this area of Piedmont towards the end of 1800 and emigrated to various countries in Europe, North and South America so I would also take into consideration that your ancestors might have gone to Poland more recently.


Ada

Thank you for your suggestions, Ada!