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When you're looking for Italian baby names there are a few things to consider. We know this having named two of them in the past few years!

We're an English and Italian couple and while the idea of a beautiful Italian name is very romantic there are a few things which you should be aware of, especially if you have a mixed culture relationship.

Ideally you want your child's name to easily pronounced in all places he or she might find themselves. In the same way it should be something which is easy to spell for all involved.

For example, my husband's name is Graziano which is the Italian male form of Grace. In the UK and United States people struggle to pronounce this. It's not a combination of letters where we are used to the sounds. So think about what you would like your child's experience to be of their name.

It does matter, as they will use this in all the situations where they care what people think; such as school, nursery and playgroups. To us it's not an issue but when you're a child you just want to fit in.

If you 're looking for inspiration for Italian baby names there are sites which can help you. These work like little search engines and you can choose whether you're looking for a girl or little boy. Often these are grouped by alphabet which make it user friendly.

Of course you don't need Italian roots to want to use an classic Italian name, there are so many lovely ones to choose from you may just find one which suits your family and realise it's the perfect name.

So given we have lots of experience in this area we're sharing our favourite Italian names as a starting point!

Babys little feet wrapped in a swaddle: Italian Baby Names — Credit: unsplash.

Most popular names in Italy now

In 2023 the most popular male Italian baby names were Lorenzo, Luca, Enzo, Giovanni and Francesco.

Like most places though, we are all looking abroad for something a little exotic so lots of Italians called their sons Liam, Andy, Evan and Dylan this year! These more British/American names are seen as modern and unique Italian baby boy names.

The top Italian girl names were Chiara, Elena, Mila and Serena. However, again the appeal of international popularity has also meant that Zoe, Avery, and Romy were on the list.

These modern-feeling names might show an outward looking young generation and ‘badass girl names’ are becoming popular but generally, Italian parents are quite traditional. The most heard will be classics such as Giacomo, Salvatore, Matteo the Italian version of Matthew, Giuseppe and Roberto who all still come in the top 20 for an Italian boy's name.

For an Italian baby girl name which will stand the test of time there's Francesca, Martina, Sofia, Anna, Emma and Isabella.

Finding an authentic italian name

Ignoring the latest and biggest trend is key when finding a traditional name of Italian origin. Using a search tool as mentioned above will help and then you can narrow it down to your most loved list of Italian names.

We then looked at how these would translate in two countries or languages. We wanted names which were the same in both places. For us, some of the best options in the Italian language were:

Baby girl names:

Flavia

Allegra

Alessandra

Violetta

Viviana

Lucia

Aria

Alessia

Gabriella

Valentina

For a little bambino there are:

Dante

Marco

Flavio

Lucio

Livio

Angelo

Luigi

Stefano

Antonio

Bruno

Adrianno - italian version of Adrian

How to shorten or lengthen Italian versions of names

If you're worried about how names will be shortened or turned into pet names or nick names then this does still happen with Italian names. Although I think less so than Anglo-Saxon culture.

Common shortenings are Patrizia becomes Patti, Edoardo - Edo, Adelina - Lina, Giuseppe - Pepe, Agata - Tina, Alessandra - Sandra. So none of them are particularly worrisome and and actually quite sweet.

Italians mainly add on a few letters to a name depending on their relation to the person or where that person stands in the family. For example a 'Giuseppe' who is the youngest of his family may be called 'Giuseppino' which means little Giuseppe. This can stay with them through to adulthood!

Gender-neutral names

You may notice from the lists above that most Italian male names end in 'o' and most female names end in 'a'. Due to this it's less likely to find gender-neutral names. Even the exceptions such as Luca or Andrea which ends in an 'a' and so should be feminine are actually boys names in Italy. If you are looking for this type of name it may be easier for the child to have an international name or to follow the trend of picking an Italian word and using it as a name. This is not something Italian parents would do but does appeal to those who have a love of Italian culture.

Examples of these are: Alessi, Capri, Delta (Greek origin), Varenna, Roma, Fede.

We hope you've found this a useful guide to finding a beautiful name using one of the most popular romance languages. We're sure you'll make an excellent choice whether you choose the names of ancient romans, patron saints or Leonardo DiCaprio! There is a lot in Italy to be inspired by. Share your suggestions below!