The history of Joseph

I personally cannot complain that the name Joseph is pretty great to have as a name. After all there are three ways I can say my name; Joe, Joey, Joseph. Who else can do that? Even though most famous Joseph's are important because of their contributions to religion, there is also Joseph A. Bank, Joseph Stalin, Joseph Gordon Levitt. All very different from a clothing store, to a communist dictator, to Robin from Batman. What other name is famous for so many different reasons besides Joseph?

Joseph; very commonly known as a saint name. The name Joseph comes from the Hebrew name Yosef meaning "God shall add another son." Joseph was the name of the father of Jesus in the Bible. Joseph Son of Jacob is very well known in the Hebrew scripture, and the Quran as liberator of the Isrealites from Egypt. Joseph of Arithmea was believed to have brought the holy grail to Great Britain a very long time ago. As you can tell Joseph's have been very important throughout history. My name, very religious throughout history has brought up stereotypes about all Josephs, and that naming your child Joseph will make them suddenly a perfect little angel. I'm not going to argue that sometimes it has its benefits, no one is perfect including me Joseph!

Now my last name; Lacovara ,not Lacovera, or LaCovara. The way it is pronounced is LA-CO-VAH-RA. Bottom line it is not as hard to pronounce, as it may seem. The name Lacovara is Italian, and originates from the midieval Greek surname Lagodares or "Leveret". Which if you didn't know "Leveret" is a young hare (tiny animal similar to a rabbit, but with longer ears). I always liked rabbits but I didn't know that my last name had any relation. Maybe that's why I like carrots so much? Well anyway, my Lacovara ancestors originated from the town of San Mauro Forte, in the province of Basilicata, Italy. If you have never seen pictures of San Mauro Forte it is a small village on top of a giant hill in the middle of the mountains (photo above). I'm not 100% sure but my ancestors must have been in incredible shape from walking up and down the hill all day from home to wheat farm. I have always loved carbs, now I know that my ancestors did too.

Some of my ancestors some how ended up on a boat headed for Great Britain while others headed to the U.S. While in the UK they among with many other immigrants worked in coal mines, and helped to build the British rail roads. The relatives who ended up in the U.S. lived in Brooklyn, New York among with many other immigrants. They also worked on the railroads, and faced many low paying jobs.

Joseph has been a very popular name throughout history with the number of Joseph's in the U.S. peaking in the 1910's when there were 13, 160 per million babies. Yet the number of Joseph's in the U.S. has been decreasing ever since. My Grandfather's name was Joseph, my dad's name is Joseph, and My name is Joseph, so yeah, it can be pretty confusing especially with mail, but I wouldn't change my name for the world. I'm proud to say that I'm Joseph Lacovara, even though I'm #3.