The mafia has no single universally authoritative name across times and places

Evidence

Searching for the one true name is a fruitless task; there simply isn’t one for all times and all places. Depending on the context, one man’s assertion is as good as any other’s, neither true nor false. Buscetta may simply have heard his associates use the expression “Cosa Nostra” more frequently than others while Marsala heard “mafia” and Bonanno “My Tradition.” — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 361

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what explains the variance itself — are the different names correlated with different functions (intimidation vs. internal bonding)?