The Varsano family name has various spelling variations that complicate genealogical research. The standard spelling of V-A-R-S-A-N-O sometimes changes depending on different countries language and pronunciation anomalies. Many times, the traditional family name is changed because an government or immigration official misheard or misread the name.
New immigrants to the United States would often deliberately change their family name to sound more “American.” Varsano sounds Spanish or Italian, definitely Latin-based, certainly not English or Germanic, so a name change is the first step towards assimilation. Even Varsano family members making Aliyah to Israel changed their name to sound more Israeli and less European. Voluntarily changing your name is categorically different from the common misspelling of government bureaucrats.
Barsano Family Name
In Spanish (or Ladino), the letter “V” is pronounced like the letter “B.” Therefore, when some government officials in non-Latin country hear a Ladino-speaking person say “Varsano,” they write “Barsano” on the official paperwork. Research of public records found several Barsano families, some may be Jewish Varsanos and some are Christian Barsanos from Italian families, possibly long ago converts from Judaism.
Pasquale Barsano was was born around 1858 in San Donato Ninea in the Calabria region of Southern Italy. On September 5, 1885, Pasquale married Caterina Buccalo in Manhattan, New York.
Giovanni Barsano was born in 1866 in Italy and arrived in the United States on September 4, 1888 on the ship La Gascogne. He worked as a laborer.
Pasquale Barsano was born in Italy in 1878. He married Nancy Barsano who was also born around 1878. Pasquale and Nancy had six children. Ralph Barsano was the eldest child born in 1910 in New York. The other five children (Pauline Varsano, Josephine Barsano, Anma Barsano, Helen Barsano, and Rose Barsano Oliveri (married to Thomas Oliveri with daughetr Catherine)) were also born in America, which implies that Pasquale and Nancy immigrated to the US between 1900 and 1910. In the 1940 United States Federal Census , the Barsano family resided at 211 6th Ave, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings, New York.
Jacob Barsano was born around 1886 in Greece and Esther Barsano was born around 1893 in Greece. In the 1940 census, she was living at 1036 Fox Street, A D 5, Bronx, New York. Her citizenship status was listed as Alien. Esther and Jacob had six children: Regina, Salvadore, Sophie, Sarah, Clara, and Susie Barsano. Regina, the eldest child, was born in 1918 in Greece. Salvadore, the second oldest child, was born a year later in 1919 in New York. The other four children were all born in the New York, so presumably the Barsano family immigrated to the United States in 1918 or 1919.
Amadeo Barsano was born in Italy in 1895, presumably near the town of Gaeta in the Naples area of Southern Italy. Amedeo married Maria Gelsomina Salerno (born in 1906) in Italy. Amadeo visited the United States on February 15, 1920. Amadeo and Maria had a son named Erasnno Anthony Barsano .born in 1928 in Italy. Amadeo became a naturalized citizen of the US in 1932. Amadeo lived in Massachusetts and worked as a carpenter. Maria Gelsomina Barsano immigrated to the US on October 23, 1935.
Don Beraha Y. Barsano was born on March 29, 1899 in Greece and immigrated to the United States some time after 1944.
More recently, a Barsano living in Israel suffered the tragic loss of their heroic son. Sergeant Adar Barsano, 20, served in the Armored Corps. of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Barsano was killed on Saturday, July 19, 2014 during an attempted terror attack by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated into Israel through tunnels. “He was a hero and he died as a hero…our hearts are broken,” childhood friend Bar Schaps told Haaretz. Barsano was from Nahariya, Israel.
In 2019, Joseph Barsano created a funding campaign to benefit the Lone Soldier Center. Joseph used the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah to benefit the memory of a hero. Joseph’s brother Marc Barsano is one of the lone soldiers of the Givati Brigade.
Slavic and German Spellings of Varsano
In Bulgaria and other Slavic countries, it was common for families to add the letter “V” to the end of their name so it no longer ends in a vowel. Many families in Slavic countries, particularly Bulgaria, were know as Varsanov.
A Germanic variation that I noticed was on the concentration camp intake forms during the Holocaust. The “V” sound in German uses the letter “W.” A German or Austrian hearing the “Varsano” would mistakenly write “Warsano.” Another related misspellings is Warssano featuring two of the letter “S.”
The most common misspelling seems to be Versano. Sometimes that’s a misspelling of Varsano and sometimes it is its own distinct name unrelated to the Varsano family. Another family name that is also similar is Varasano. Varasano seems to be a non-Jewish Italian family and is not a variation of Varsano. If you know of any other variations or misspelling of the Varsano family, then please share it.