My Paternal surname is "Chiofalo". (1000+) people with this spelling.

Most confirmed spelling variations depend on the region of Italy.

Most "Chiofolo" with all O's were changed once they arrived in the U.S. (200+)

Migration records show cursive writing where it appears, as all "O"s.

Most descendants were illiterate (not to be offensive) and signed with a mark.

The same could be said for all the other variations but all originated from the spelling of "Chiofalo".

Other variations include Ciofalo-Ciofolo-Chefalo-Chifalo-Chiafolo-Chiafalo-Chiafala both in Italy and the United States.

The spelling "Ciofalo" can be seen among (200+ persons).

(Ciofalo spelling is linked to Termini Imerese, Palermo, Italy)

The spelling "Ciofolo" can be seen among (25+ people)

The spelling "Chefalo" can be seen among (50+) people

(Chefalo spelling is linked to Quartiere San Giuseppe, Napoli, Italia)

The spelling "Chifalo" can be seen among (50+) people

(Chifalo is mainly linked to Colorado, US, but more related to Cefalu)

The spelling "Chiafolo" can be seen among (10+) people

The spelling "Chiafalo" can be seen among (15+) people

The spelling "Chiafala" can be seen among (25+) people

(Chiafala spelling may be from Machito, Potenza, Italy)

The spelling "Chiffolo" can be seen among (10+) people

The spelling "Chiofaro" can be seen among (10+) people

*It is important to note that a town called Cefalù is a coastal city in northern Sicily, Palermo, and more than (500+) people spell their name as Cefalù. There is a spelling of Cefalo (200+) that might have originated from there.

The Chiofalo lineage begins from Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, the province of Messina, Sicily (1500-1600). I have documented many on Findagrave.

Those born from (1700-1800) were born in the province of Trapani, especially in Partanna, Salemi, and adjacent towns: Castelvetrano, Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Santa Ninfa, and Vita.

Any living descendants are welcome to contact me to add to our legacy.

Be grateful to the volunteers: The only way to locate family members is if someone obtained the cemetery records and recorded them, or a volunteer took a photo of a headstone and created a memorial. All of this should be encouraged, even if there are mistakes, as the clues do help and all should be "Thanked", as the ultimate family member is the only one that may have the true answers and will benefit from others' efforts.