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This paper deals with personal names of people born in Manduria (Taranto, Southern Italy) during the XIX c. It aims at highlighting the consistency of the considered database by comparing familiar preferences from the beginning to the end of the century. Emerging differences in the names' choice are also analyzed on historical and geographical bases and are discussed in connection with similar data collected in other regions. Italian State Archives preserve very interesting collections of names useful for the research in anthroponymy. They collect records about birth, wedding and death of each individual since the introduction of the Civil status (Napoleon 1806), through the Restauration period (1816), until the creation of the Italian Civil status (Jan. 1st 1866). Data is extracted from registers of birth available at the Archivio di Stato di Taranto and is related to the years 1809 and 1899. The main differences are related to changes in the frequency and the position of the traditional types and may account for the interplay between intra-familiar conservation and the diffusion of prominent religious and historical figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]