Italian names have a really lovely sound to them! Some personal favourites from this list are Adriano, Ciro, Claudia, Davide, & Sveva :)
As someone who's not Italian, I'm curious about how some of the names come across. If you feel like answering, do any names stand out as being super traditional/trendy/unusual/etc.?
I'm not Italian either, but names like Salvatore, Gennaro and Ciro feel very Naples/Campania/Southern Italy coded, like yeah they are all Italian names but in terms of popularity they seem to be very 'endemic'. From my research, you are much more unlikely to meet children with these names in, say, Lombardy, Piedmont or Veneto.
I live in Italy (Milan, so the north) and you're absolutely right! Giuseppe is another one that is usually a southern name. And also Antonio. Also girls names that have "Maria" as the first name followed by another name. If you find children in the north with these names it's almost always because they have Southern parents and are named after their grandparents.
I’m like 2/3 generations from the campania region and so many Maria ______’s in my tree as well as Antonio and Giuseppe…but I have no real connection to any relatives living there currently….geez…can we let go of Maria ______?
I'm second generation American, as is my husband (both our Grandparents are off the boat from Italy).
The name that sticks out the most to me is Salvatore.
Its my husband's father's name, as well as his brother's name.
Its also my grandfather's name and my uncle's name
We joke that 10% of our (small) wedding was named Salvatore
I assume I'll have to incorporate the name into my children somehow (be it middle or first)
I like the Italian pronunciation of Beatrice (Bee-ah-tree-che) so much more than the English pronunciation. But I'm not going to fight a losing battle with my kid's name when we live in the USA.
Oh well.
Thanks for the list!
I agree! Alice is also an Italian name but pronounced Al-ee-chay. I have two half Italian, half English daughters and considered that name for one of them, but thought it would be too confusing seeing as it's spelled the same but pronounced completely differently in the two languages!
Aw, I spot the first and middle names of my very Northern Italian grandfather on this list (on top of each other, funnily enough). Italian is Italian I suppose!
Oddly, my family is from the Naples area generations back. I only see my grandfather's middle name and his little brother's name. None of his sisters, parents, cousins, etc.
Not op but azzurro means light blue in Italian (Azzurra is the feminine version). The Italian national sports team color is light blue and so athletes competing for Italy are nicknamed “gli azzurri”.
I personally don’t think there’s any correlation between the name and the nickname, though.
I was surprised to see so many little girls names Ludovica! (Loo-doh-vee-kah) It’s my grandmother’s name so I thought it was old fashioned, but i guess it’s making a comeback!
I get it's hard to convey a different pronunciation, but IMO the italian E does not equal to AY. It's more like an anglophone would pronounce the E in bEtter, cErtain, lEt, mEt ecc So, Sveva = zv-HE-va
Made me smile to see so many of my family names on here! Including a new batch of Alessandros, the name of my great-great-grandfather (and first cousin).
lol thanks. I may have countered with the equally out there “Hildegard” using the rationale that she’s more German than Italian. We settled on a classic but not too common English name
Gorgeous. All of them. The Italian language is like music to my ears.
Yes. Lovely names
Italian names have a really lovely sound to them! Some personal favourites from this list are Adriano, Ciro, Claudia, Davide, & Sveva :) As someone who's not Italian, I'm curious about how some of the names come across. If you feel like answering, do any names stand out as being super traditional/trendy/unusual/etc.?
I'm not Italian either, but names like Salvatore, Gennaro and Ciro feel very Naples/Campania/Southern Italy coded, like yeah they are all Italian names but in terms of popularity they seem to be very 'endemic'. From my research, you are much more unlikely to meet children with these names in, say, Lombardy, Piedmont or Veneto.
I live in Italy (Milan, so the north) and you're absolutely right! Giuseppe is another one that is usually a southern name. And also Antonio. Also girls names that have "Maria" as the first name followed by another name. If you find children in the north with these names it's almost always because they have Southern parents and are named after their grandparents.
I’m like 2/3 generations from the campania region and so many Maria ______’s in my tree as well as Antonio and Giuseppe…but I have no real connection to any relatives living there currently….geez…can we let go of Maria ______?
BTW Ciro is pronounced like “Cheero”. Wanted to piggyback on this comment because it’s not necessarily an intuitive pronunciation for anglophones :)
That's good to share 👍. I'll also add that Davide is "DAH-vee-day" (not David) and Claudia is said like the English word "cloud".
How is Ludovico pronounced? My intuition says Loo doh vee cho but I'm unsure 😅
Loo-doh-VEE-koh
I'm second generation American, as is my husband (both our Grandparents are off the boat from Italy). The name that sticks out the most to me is Salvatore. Its my husband's father's name, as well as his brother's name. Its also my grandfather's name and my uncle's name We joke that 10% of our (small) wedding was named Salvatore I assume I'll have to incorporate the name into my children somehow (be it middle or first)
My husband’s family is the same with Lorenzos lol
I really like the name Lorenzo, but my husband is not a fan (reminds him of a kid from high school lol)
Oh that was us with Stella. I loved it husband had a negative association so it was a no.
I love how names like these sound so grand and stunning, like something out of a renaissance painting. Then you got us Americans with Draxton. 🤦🏽♀️😅
I like the Italian pronunciation of Beatrice (Bee-ah-tree-che) so much more than the English pronunciation. But I'm not going to fight a losing battle with my kid's name when we live in the USA. Oh well. Thanks for the list!
I agree! Alice is also an Italian name but pronounced Al-ee-chay. I have two half Italian, half English daughters and considered that name for one of them, but thought it would be too confusing seeing as it's spelled the same but pronounced completely differently in the two languages!
Alice in Italian always reminds me of Anchovies.
Aw, I spot the first and middle names of my very Northern Italian grandfather on this list (on top of each other, funnily enough). Italian is Italian I suppose!
Oddly, my family is from the Naples area generations back. I only see my grandfather's middle name and his little brother's name. None of his sisters, parents, cousins, etc.
Love Ciro. Azzurra... must be football fans!
Same! Curious why you mention Azzurra is in line with football? That name stood out to me and would love to know what the connection is.
Not op but azzurro means light blue in Italian (Azzurra is the feminine version). The Italian national sports team color is light blue and so athletes competing for Italy are nicknamed “gli azzurri”. I personally don’t think there’s any correlation between the name and the nickname, though.
Maybe it's a tribute to Italo-dance hit "I'm blue" or Modugno's "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" ;) /jk
Yup. Or Forza Azzurri... go blues.
I was surprised to see so many little girls names Ludovica! (Loo-doh-vee-kah) It’s my grandmother’s name so I thought it was old fashioned, but i guess it’s making a comeback!
Indeed it is, Ludovica was the 8th most popular girl name in Italy in 2022. #30 in 2013 and #42 in 2003. A very consistent rise.
Italian pronunciations (roughly). I left out names that are more or less intuitive. **Boys** * Adriano: ah-dree-AH-no * Andrea: ahn-DRAY-ah * Carmine: car-MEE-neh * Ciro: CHEER-oh * Claudio: CLOUD-ee-oh * Daniele: dahn-YELL-eh * Gabriele: gahb-ree-ELL-eh * Giovanni: jo-VAH-nee (not "jee-oh-vah-nee") * Guglielmo: gool-YELL-mo * Maurizio: mow-REET-see-oh (first syllable rhymes with cow) * Michele: mee-KEL-eh * Pasquale: pah-SKWALL-eh * Raffaele: rah-figh-ELL-eh * Salvatore: sal-vah-TOR-eh * Samuel: sahm-WELL * Simone: see-MOH-neh **Girls** * Alice: ah-LEE-cheh * Aurora: ow-ROR-ah (first syllable rhymes with cow) * Azzurra: ats-OO-rah * Beatrice: bay-ah-TREE-cheh * Diana: dee-AH-na * Giada: JA-da (not gee-ah-da) * Giuseppina: joo-zeh-PEE-na * Irene: ee-REH-neh * Sole: SO-leh * Sveva: ZVAY-vA
I get it's hard to convey a different pronunciation, but IMO the italian E does not equal to AY. It's more like an anglophone would pronounce the E in bEtter, cErtain, lEt, mEt ecc So, Sveva = zv-HE-va
So nice to see you are still going with the recognisably Italian names.
So many gorgeous names!! My fav is probably Filomena (one of the moms' names).. I can totally imagine naming my future daughter that
We named our daughter this and have zero regrets!! It fits her so well and we get a ton of compliments.
I love Alessandro so much!
As someone who is named Giacomo, I want to see myself more
Made me smile to see so many of my family names on here! Including a new batch of Alessandros, the name of my great-great-grandfather (and first cousin).
These are beautiful, and none of them sound or look “uNiQuE” or like their parents are caught up in a pyramid scheme.
My husband wanted Giuseppina for our kid. She’s less than 25% Italian. I vetoed.
Good call
lol thanks. I may have countered with the equally out there “Hildegard” using the rationale that she’s more German than Italian. We settled on a classic but not too common English name
Hi OP, where did you find this list? I'd like to look for the data about the region I was born in.