Microevolution in Perugia: isonymy 1890-1990

The distribution of surnames in the population of the Comune of Perugia, as it existed in the memory banks of the Municipality Computer in autumn 1991, was studied by age and place of birth. Fisher's alpha and Karlin-McGregor's v were estimated in the total population, in persons born before 1901, and in persons born in the nine decades thereafter, ending with the period 1981-1991, for immigrants and for natives of Perugia, respectively. The wealth of surnames was significantly higher in immigrants than in natives of Perugia, as detected by alpha, v and by the log-log regression of the corresponding distributions. Among residents born in Perugia, Fisher's alpha shows a minimum value during 1921-1930, explained as a consequence of the First World War. The relationship between all possible combinations of cohorts born in the 10 different decades was studied through the Euclidean distance and through Lasker's coefficient of relationship, and a significant correlation between the former and time was revealed, both in immigrants and in natives of Perugia. When compared with the Province of Ferrara, Perugia was far richer in surnames, as measured by Fisher's alpha, for the total population and for each of the 10 decades analysed. Recent immigration, measured by Karlin-McGregor's v, was significantly higher in Perugia until the 1960s, equal in both Provinces during the 1970s, and higher in Ferrara during the 1980s.