by Jennifer Macon-Steele

Created on: December 21, 2009

Many Italian-American parents would like to honor their culture by naming their children traditional Italian names. Like the Italian language, Italian baby names are beautiful and melodic. Here are some suggestions.

 Girls’ Names

 Alessandra – defender of mankind

Alisa – wise counselor

Belladonna – beautiful woman

Bianca – fair haired

Carlina – a free person

Elena – the light of the sun

Felice – happy

Gianna/Giovanna – God is gracious

Marietta – a bitterly wanted child

Rosalia – beautiful melody

Tessa - countess

Vanni – grace

Boys’ Names

Angelo – an angel

Cristiano – a follower of Christ

Dante – enduring

Gianni – Italian form of John

Giovanni – God is gracious

Nico – victory of the people

Paolo – Italian form of Paul

Pietro - stone

Salvator – savior

Stephano – a crown or garland

Vittore – a conqueror

Vincentio – victor

 Another way to honor your Italian culture with your child’s name is to use or modify a family surname. Italian surnames such as Ricci, Romano, Marino, Conti and Russo could all be used as first names. De Luca could be shortened to Luca, and Ferrari could be shortened to Ferri. Make a list of your family names and be creative. You never know what you might come up with.

 You could also look to geography for an Italian names. Sicily would be a beautiful name for a little girl, as would Florence. There’s also Milan and Verona. The Italian names of cities are pretty as well. Think Roma, Genova or Venezia. You could also modify place names to come up with Italian baby names such as Roman or Venecia.

 Finally, here are the most popular baby names in Italy.

 Girls’ Names

1)      Maria

2)      Anna

3)      Giuseppina

4)      Rosa

5)      Angela

6)      Giovanna

7)      Teresa

8)      Lucia

9)      Carmela

10)  Caterina

11)  Francesca

12)  Anna Maria

13)  Antonietta

14)  Carla

15)  Elena

16)  Concetta

17)  Rita

18)  Margherita

19)  Franca

20)  Paola

Boy’s Names

1)      Giuseppe

2)      Giovanni

3)      Antonio

4)      Mario

5)      Luigi

6)      Francesco

7)      Angelo

8)      Vincenzo

9)      Pietro

10)  Salvatore

11)  Carlo

12)  Franco

13)  Dominico

14)  Bruno

15)  Paolo

16)  Michele

17)  Giorgio

18)  Aldo

19)  Sergio

20)  Luciano

 Giving your child a cultural name can be a wonderful tribute to your family and your background. It can also give your child a connection to his or her family roots. There are many beautiful Italian names for baby boys and baby girls that would be perfect to give your child a little bit of his or her Italian heritage.

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