Tamburello VS. Tamborello - Which Spelling is Better?

Writers' Corner
1

Context: the character in question is named [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m], my story’s antagonist. He’s 45-years-old and resides in Hollywood, Los [name_f]Angeles[/name_f], [name_m]California[/name_m]. He’s 50% Judeo-Italian from his mother’s lineage and is fluent in Judeo-Piedmontese (a dialect of Judeo-Italian from Piedmont in Italy) as well as [name_f]English[/name_f]. His grandparents trace their roots to [name_f]Sicily[/name_f], [name_f]Italy[/name_f]. His other heritage is unknown, for he never met his father. He grew up in [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m] as the second son of four total children.

Onto the surnames themselves: the variant “Tamburello” is far more common, with approximately 3,609 bearers worldwide. 1,221 bearers reside in [name_m]North[/name_m] [name_f]America[/name_f], with 298 bearers residing in [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m]. 1,968 bearers reside in [name_f]Italy[/name_f], with 1,552 bearers residing in [name_f]Sicily[/name_f].
The variant “Tamborello” is far less common, with only approximately 446 bearers, who predominantly reside in [name_m]North[/name_m] [name_f]America[/name_f]. 34 of those bearers reside in [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m]. All of this information was gathered from Forebears.io.

[name_f]My[/name_f] dilemma is that, while Tamburello is more common, I prefer the Tamborello spelling, despite the fact that I try my best to adhere to realism and what names are most common in the world. Additionally, there’s already an existing man named [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] Tamburello, and I don’t want to conflate my character with that actual person.

What would your recommendations be?

2

I would pronounce them slightly differently: tam-boo-rell-oh vs tam-bor-ell-oh, if that would make a difference to you. although honestly unless he’s a major character, I might not even take the time to sound out the surname while reading it in my head. it would depend on my mood.

realism is fine and all but im guessing the story you’re writing is supposed to be a work of fiction, no? fiction gives you creative liberty. but regardless, I think it’s highly unlikely that anyone would even notice the use of a more uncommon spelling of an already uncommon surname. certainly no one is going to put down your story because of it.

go with what you prefer!

3

You know what, SparkleNinja? You’re absolutely correct. I realize that I need to stop being so autistic and just go with what my gut tells me, and it sings aloud the name “Giuseppe Tamborello!” Thank you for bringing me to my senses.

1 Like