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It is very difficult to generalize anything about Italy, a country that just over a century and a half ago was a land divided in several independent countries and occupied territories. Italy is still divided by dialects local culture and intrinsic prejudice about people living in the town next door.
Let's narrow down these differences by taking in consideration the three geographical locations, North, Center and South. Based on the last census (2004) the most common name in the south is Francesco in center Italy is Lorenzo while in the north is Matteo, as for girls the difference is less accentuated, Giulia is the most popular name followed by Francesca, these names are fairly common throughout the country.

Francesco, from the Latin "Franciscus" originally indicated people of the Germanic tribe of the francs, after the coming of San Francesco D'Assisi (St. Francis) the name took a religious connotation and today still remains the main meaning.

Lorenzo, from the Latin Laurentius meaning "citizen of Laurento" an antique city near Rome, is considered a name traditional of Italian nobility, Lorenzo De'Medici being the most famous, also Lorenzo the martyr from the 3rd century is thought to be a source for this name.

Matteo, from Hebraic Matithyah which is a composite of two words matath which means gift and yah the abbreviation for Yaveh meaning God, with the name Matteo meaning a gift of God. Of course Mathew the apostle is the main religious link to this name.

Giulia feminine name of Giulio is derived by the Roman God Giove (the Greek called him Zeus) also thought to come from the Greek "Youlos" which means coarse beard.
A link to Saints, St. Giulia of Corsica, was Martyred in 450 AD for refusing to take part in a Pagan ceremony.

Francesca ah Francesca, thank you Dante for giving us this name, Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta, the two lovers in the "Inferno" condemned to be ravished by a tempestuous sea, just like a tempestuous illicit love ravished them.
Francesca is synonymous with Passion, love and anything romantic in Italy.

Traditional names like Antonio and Giuseppe are still the most used names in Sicily and Campania, where the old tradition of naming a first born son after the paternal grandfather is still in place.
Antonio and Giuseppe were the two most used names in Italy for many decades with the trend ending in the sixties, when the young generation of the time rebelled with tradition and made a statement by rejecting the naming traditions, although there are plenty of Italians with Antonio and Giuseppe as a middle name (I guess the desire for a break wasn't strong enough).

Learn more about this author, Michael Di Corcia.
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