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It always seemed to me that there were more Italians in upstate NY, than in NYC. Places like Syracose, Binghamton.
My grandmother was 100% Italian; both of her parents emigrated from Sicily in the 1910s and settled in Rochester, NY. She grew up in a neighborhood in the city of Rochester that was nearly 100% Italian through the 1960s. She was the only one of her 8 siblings to marry a non-italian (my grandfather was many-generations-in American; with a German last name) and in the suburbs of Rochester where most of my extended family on both sides still live.....You'll still find quite a few families and millenials who retain some "Italian identity"...but yeah they are generally mostly white-American with some Italian traditional meals/celebrations every once in a while. (to be fair I haven't visited up there in nearly a decade...will be headed up for a cousins wedding next weekend).
Staten Island in NYC, though I'm not nearly as familiar, definitely seemed more "hardcore Italian" than Rochester (which in nerding out and looking up percentages; Monroe County, NY does look to have one of the higher percentages of people identifying "italian" heritage)
When it comes to big city areas, parts of South Philly and the vast majority of Staten Island still have a good amount predominantly Italian American neighborhoods.
My grandmother was 100% Italian; both of her parents emigrated from Sicily in the 1910s and settled in Rochester, NY. She grew up in a neighborhood in the city of Rochester that was nearly 100% Italian through the 1960s. She was the only one of her 8 siblings to marry a non-italian (my grandfather was many-generations-in American; with a German last name) and in the suburbs of Rochester where most of my extended family on both sides still live.....You'll still find quite a few families and millenials who retain some "Italian identity"...but yeah they are generally mostly white-American with some Italian traditional meals/celebrations every once in a while. (to be fair I haven't visited up there in nearly a decade...will be headed up for a cousins wedding next weekend).
Staten Island in NYC, though I'm not nearly as familiar, definitely seemed more "hardcore Italian" than Rochester (which in nerding out and looking up percentages; Monroe County, NY does look to have one of the higher percentages of people identifying "italian" heritage)
Similar family history here. My grandfather was born in Sicily, emigrated after WWII to an inner city neighborhood on the west side of Rochester that was almost entirely Italian. He met my grandmother who was also 100% Italian from an all Italian neighborhood on the east side and the rest is history. I’ve been told Italian children (particularly daughters) were expected by their parents to stay with their “own kind” and even marrying outside of the ethnicity could cause them to be disowned. One story stands out from my grandma about one of her high school boyfriends who was Polish getting chased out of the house by her father. It seems so trivial and mean spirited, but that wasn’t tolerated. I supposed those people were a product of their times with an immigrant mentality to preserve the culture. Interestingly, my grandfather never passed down the language or identified strongly with his mother country, rather he wanted to be seen as an American first and foremost until the day he died.
I’m actually the first member of my immediate family who is not fully Italian, but among my peers my ancestral mix was the norm rather than the exception by the time I went to school. Most White friends had parents of differing ethnicities whether Irish, Polish, German, etc.
Then I strayed far from the course and married a Black woman It is crazy to think that my great-grandparents and earlier may have held contempt for me (and undoubtedly my wife – that would’ve been a big no-no) simply on the basis of ethnicity.
Speaking of Rochester, I’m fairly certain the list previously posted ranking “most Italian cities” is incorrectly missing it. It was not long ago that Rochester had a higher number of Italian residents than any other Upstate metro. I found a 1990 Census table ranking it 9th nationally in terms of raw numbers, just below Cleveland, with 170,910 self-reported Americans of Italian origin. I would be shocked if so many have moved away, then again I cannot for the life of me find 2020 data to reference.
Speaking of Rochester, I’m fairly certain the list previously posted ranking “most Italian cities” is incorrectly missing it. It was not long ago that Rochester had a higher number of Italian residents than any other Upstate metro. I found a 1990 Census table ranking it 9th nationally in terms of raw numbers, just below Cleveland, with 170,910 self-reported Americans of Italian origin. I would be shocked if so many have moved away, then again I cannot for the life of me find 2020 data to reference.
Census estimate for 2020 is 70,528 for the six county Rochester MSA.
I don't think it's just a matter of moving away, but also of dying off. The 1910-1920 births have died, the 1920-1930 births have mostly died. In 1990 there would still have been large numbers of people from that generation. Those included a fair number of migrants, a large number of 1st generation American births, so it was easy to report Italian ancestry.
The grand and great-grandchildren born since 1990 however are far more likely to have mixed ancestry and thus not report Italian as ancestry.
My grandmother was 100% Italian; both of her parents emigrated from Sicily in the 1910s and settled in Rochester, NY. She grew up in a neighborhood in the city of Rochester that was nearly 100% Italian through the 1960s. She was the only one of her 8 siblings to marry a non-italian (my grandfather was many-generations-in American; with a German last name) and in the suburbs of Rochester where most of my extended family on both sides still live.....You'll still find quite a few families and millenials who retain some "Italian identity"...but yeah they are generally mostly white-American with some Italian traditional meals/celebrations every once in a while. (to be fair I haven't visited up there in nearly a decade...will be headed up for a cousins wedding next weekend).
Staten Island in NYC, though I'm not nearly as familiar, definitely seemed more "hardcore Italian" than Rochester (which in nerding out and looking up percentages; Monroe County, NY does look to have one of the higher percentages of people identifying "italian" heritage)
Interesting...Given this information, I wouldn't be surprised if your family lives in the western suburbs. Towns such as Gates, Greece, Chili, etc. are known for their high Italian percentages. This makes sense, as the bulk of the Italian population in the city of Rochester was/is in the western quadrants. Quite a few in Irondequoit as well, especially eastern Irondequoit.
Census estimate for 2020 is 70,528 for the six county Rochester MSA.
That feels about right. So using OP’s previous list, we have:
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
People Reporting Italian as Single Ancestry in 2020
1. New York - 1,030,753
2. Philadelphia - 258,426
3. Boston - 208,987
4. Chicago - 184,662
5. Miami - 137,413
6. Pittsburgh - 118,663
7. Los Angeles - 115,541
8. Detroit - 90,649
9. Providence - 82,015
10. New Haven - 76,711
11. Washington - 71,808 12. Rochester - 70,528
13. San Francisco - 65,531
14. Buffalo - 64,399
15. Cleveland - 62,217
16. Baltimore - 49,084
17. St. Louis - 39,542
18. Syracuse - 37,376
19. New Orleans - 29,767
Interesting. If I have a chance later I’ll calculate percentage of population as well.
Also curious to know how many of these cities have a proper Little Italy neighborhood. Rochester does not (however there is a neighborhood group attempting to form one now, I think in vain).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit
I don't think it's just a matter of moving away, but also of dying off. The 1910-1920 births have died, the 1920-1930 births have mostly died. In 1990 there would still have been large numbers of people from that generation. Those included a fair number of migrants, a large number of 1st generation American births, so it was easy to report Italian ancestry.
The grand and great-grandchildren born since 1990 however are far more likely to have mixed ancestry and thus not report Italian as ancestry.
Certainly true. I supposed the combination of the largest wave of Italian immigrants dying off with intermixing inside Millennial/Gen Z, we’re naturally going to see a smaller number of self identified Italian-Americans.
Similar family history here. My grandfather was born in Sicily, emigrated after WWII to an inner city neighborhood on the west side of Rochester that was almost entirely Italian. He met my grandmother who was also 100% Italian from an all Italian neighborhood on the east side and the rest is history. I’ve been told Italian children (particularly daughters) were expected by their parents to stay with their “own kind” and even marrying outside of the ethnicity could cause them to be disowned. One story stands out from my grandma about one of her high school boyfriends who was Polish getting chased out of the house by her father. It seems so trivial and mean spirited, but that wasn’t tolerated. I supposed those people were a product of their times with an immigrant mentality to preserve the culture. Interestingly, my grandfather never passed down the language or identified strongly with his mother country, rather he wanted to be seen as an American first and foremost until the day he died.
I’m actually the first member of my immediate family who is not fully Italian, but among my peers my ancestral mix was the norm rather than the exception by the time I went to school. Most White friends had parents of differing ethnicities whether Irish, Polish, German, etc.
Then I strayed far from the course and married a Black woman It is crazy to think that my great-grandparents and earlier may have held contempt for me (and undoubtedly my wife – that would’ve been a big no-no) simply on the basis of ethnicity.
Speaking of Rochester, I’m fairly certain the list previously posted ranking “most Italian cities” is incorrectly missing it. It was not long ago that Rochester had a higher number of Italian residents than any other Upstate metro. I found a 1990 Census table ranking it 9th nationally in terms of raw numbers, just below Cleveland, with 170,910 self-reported Americans of Italian origin. I would be shocked if so many have moved away, then again I cannot for the life of me find 2020 data to reference.
With the first two, dad is Italian, with the third, mom is. So, some of this just depends on the family as well.
That’s true. I grew up with a few friends who were mixed Italian/Black. Despite more discrimination, it was not even unheard of in the old days. Roy Campanella always comes to mind. I’ve also heard anecdotally that Detroit and New Orleans in particular have a decent sized population of Black Americans with Italian surnames.
People Reporting Italian as Single Ancestry in 2020
New York - 1,030,753
Philadelphia - 258,426
Boston - 208,987
Chicago - 184,662
Miami - 137,413
Pittsburgh - 118,663
Los Angeles - 115,541
Detroit - 90,649
Providence - 82,015
New Haven - 76,711
Washington - 71,808
San Francisco - 65,531
Buffalo - 64,399
Cleveland - 62,217
Baltimore - 49,084
St. Louis - 39,542
Syracuse - 37,376
New Orleans - 29,767
Few people have a single ancestry any longer. That trend will not slow down, it will continue.
I know places on Long Island NY where you won't be treated well if you are NOT of Italian heritage. That's also true of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. I remember being invited to a church potluck at a Lutheran church. (Many intermarried people and converts because they were not in line with the teachings of the Catholic church). I made a delicious and well-presented potato salad. MOST of the other people brought Italian side dishes. Another woman brought a carrot salad, and yet another, devilled eggs and coleslaw. We were teased about our foods.
In that area, if someone was NOT Italian, they were likely to be made fun of. If a parent was of Italian heritage, the kids self-identified as "Italian". The rest of their heritage was just absorbed into the dominant Italian. Even if they were not mostly of Italian descent.
This was on the South Eastern shore of Long Island. Shirley, Mastic, Mastic Beach, Manorville.
This was the only place in my life where I ever tasted "bad homemade" Italian food. Home or restaurant. I happen to like or love most Italian food. And no, not at the Olive Garden.
Speaking of Robert DiNiro, he is only 1/4 Italian and was raised as a Protestant.
Here in NE OH we have delicious Italian restaurants. Many people have Italian heritage, but they do not make a huge show of it.
I do not think Italian heritage is going anywhere - except that more people are a mixture of different nationalities.
Interesting...Given this information, I wouldn't be surprised if your family lives in the western suburbs. Towns such as Gates, Greece, Chili, etc. are known for their high Italian percentages. This makes sense, as the bulk of the Italian population in the city of Rochester was/is in the western quadrants. Quite a few in Irondequoit as well, especially eastern Irondequoit.
They all started on the West Side mostly Greece (where both of my parents grew up and where I was born)...are now almost all on the east side in Pittsford, Fairport, Henrietta. One aunt I believe still lives in Greece. Some cousins in the country in Caledonia (from the other side of the family with no Italian as far as I know)
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It is crazy to think that my great-grandparents and earlier may have held contempt for me (and undoubtedly my wife – that would’ve been a big no-no) simply on the basis of ethnicity. 
