Italian Baby Names

In Italian, names typically end in a vowel. Women’s name can end with –a, like Dina, Sophia, and Katerina. Men’s names can end in –o, such as Dino, Antonio, and Francesco. In Italy, boy’s names can also end in –e or even –a: Giuseppe, Simone, Andrea, and Luca, which are all male names.

Here is a list of the most common Italian baby names for boys, with their English translations and meanings:

• Giuseppe – Joseph (associated with Mary’s husbands Joseph, and Joseph of Arimathea) – God shall add.
• Antonio – Anthony – Worthy of praise Giovanni – John (associated with John the Baptist) – God is gracious
• Francesco – Frances (or Frank) –free man

Here is a list of the most common Italian baby names for girls, with their English translations and meanings:

• Maria – Mary (associated with the Virgin Mary) – star of the sea
• Anna – Anne (both of these are Latinized versions of Hannah) -- grace
• Rosa – Rose –the flower, rose
• Angela – Angela in English as well – angel

The feminine form of popular male names, including Francesca and Giuseppa are also common names in Italian.

In Italy, baby names are often added to, which creates diminutives. Mariabella means beautiful Maria; Marietta means desperately sought child Maria. Names can often be changed by adding –ina/-ino (as in Paolo and Paola becoming Paolino and Paolina), -etto/-etta as in Giorgetta (from Giorgio), which means girl from the farm. Other diminutives that can be added include –ello/-ella as in Donatello and Donatella from Donato and Donata.

It is not uncommon for Italian baby names to include more than one first name or middle name: Anna Maria is a typical first name that combines two separate names into one.

Some Italian baby names for girls with beautiful meanings include: Ghita (pearl), Giulia (youthful), Isabella (consecrated to God), Luisa (a famous warrior maiden), Phebe (radiant), Susanna (lily). Some Italian baby names for boys that have particularly beautiful meanings include: Vittore (the conqueror/victor), Alessandro (the helper and protector of mankind), Enrico (ruler of the home), and Filippo (a lover of horses).

If you are having a problem choosing an Italian baby name, it might be easiest to pick an English name that you like, or that you like the meaning of, and then translate the name to Italian to see if you still like the sound. It is important not to choose names based entirely on meaning. If you name your child Madonna, which literally means my lady and is associated with the Virgin Mary, the typical pop culture association will be with the singer Madonna, which might not be the impression you want your little girl to give. You might love the name Othello, with the meaning of prosperous, but if you name your child Othello, people will automatically think of Shakespeare’s doomed tragic hero.

Conversely, you might choose an Italian baby name because you really like the sound of it, and then discover that you don’t like the meaning of the name at all! You might not, for instance, know that Claudio means “the lame one”; Armando means “of the army”; and Ottavia or Ottavio means 8th, as in the eighth child born.