The list of female Italian names is complete. What do Italian names mean: interpretation and history of origin

The secrets associated with the meaning and origin of names at all times excited the minds of the inhabitants. Italian male names reflect the essence of this hot, passionate people. In general, the names are very beautiful.

The meanings after translation into Russian confirm the sincere impulse of the soul, courage and the boiling blood of Italian men.

The Catholic Church had a great influence on the souls of people. named after saints many babies.

Open the veil of secrecy and find out what the names of the famous football player Mario Balotelli, the genius Leonardo da Vinci and other famous sons of sunny Italy mean.

List of Italian male names

"Brave lion", "seductive", "sparkling", "God's spear", "Easter child" - these are meanings translated into Russian. What do the Italian versions sound like?

Interesting facts about Italian male names

In Italy, heated arguments often flare up between parents and numerous relatives: in honor of whom to name the born baby. Everyone defends his own version and believes that he is right.

Are there traditions associated with addressing men in Italy? Does fashion influence the choice of a name for a boy?

Do you know that:

• in the Middle Ages children often named after saints. Now this tradition is preserved in the villages. Residents of large cities adhere to it less and less;
• most modern Italian names have a Latin basis. The ending -e or -o replaced the Latin -us. The transformation was facilitated by the suffixes -ello, -ino, -iano;
• during the Roman Empire there was an unusual tradition. The families were big. To avoid confusion, only four older boys were given names. The rest of the sons were called ordinal numbers, for example: Sextus - the sixth. Gradually, the original meaning was lost. Quint - does not always mean "fifth in a row";
• many young families name their children after famous people, show business and movie stars. In Italy, athletes are treated with great respect. The football craze led to the mass registration of new Paolo, Fabio, Fernando and Mario;
• in the XXII - XIX centuries, the most popular names were Giuseppe and Leonardo. Modern parents often called sons by the names of Fernando and Mario;
• there are creative parents who want to call their newborn an absurd or funny name in all countries. In Italy, eccentricities are fought at the legislative level. State authorities have the right to refuse parents to register an infant if the chosen name will bring suffering to the child in the future;
• fashion has not bypassed men's names. Previously, among the Italians there were many citizens who were addressed by Bartolomeo, Pierpaolo, Michelangelo. Shorter, more severe appeals are now popular.: Antonio, Pietro, Mario, Fabio.

In the palette of Italian female names, parents are looking for something special. Who loves modern, someone prefers rare or ancient Italian names. The article presents a selection in which everyone can decide on the difficult choice of names for their child.

The history of the origin of Italian female names

As a rule, most Italian names are of ancient origin. Usually the name of the child was formed from the nickname or from the place of residence.

Already in the Middle Ages, girls were named according to the names of their fathers, great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers. For example, the eldest daughter was named after her grandmother on the mother's side, and the youngest - on the father's side. In cases where there were more than two children in the family, they could be called by the names of parents or relatives who had already departed to another world.

Another way of choosing the names of children was in accordance with the names of Catholic saints. Greek names were also used.

In modern Italy, children are called in a more simplified form, whereas earlier they were longer names.

List of beautiful names for a girl

In Italy, there are a lot of different beautiful and euphonious female names.

Here is some of them:

• Adriana - a female name with Greek roots, means "resident of Adria";
• Adeline - is of German origin, but can often be heard on the streets of Italy. Means "noble, fragrant";
• Bianca is a rather unusual, beautiful name, and in translation “white, blond”;
• Beatrice - the meaning of the name is "traveler";
• Velia means "hidden";
• Gabriella - a majestic name, quite common on the coast of Italy, with no less outstanding meaning - "strong from God";
• Juliet - it was impossible not to hear this name, which means "a little young";
• Julia - meaning "from the kind of Julius";
• Isabella is a beautiful Italian name meaning "dedicated to God";
• Karla - has an interesting meaning of "bright-eyed" or "person";
• Lucrezia - translated from Latin as "rich";
• Leah - from Hebrew has the translation "heifer, heifer";
• Martha - this name means "mistress, mistress";
• Nicoletta - interpreted as "the winner of the peoples";
• Noemi is a true Italian name meaning "beautiful, pleasant";
• Patricia - a majestic name meaning "aristocratic";
• Rose - a frequently used name, with the same name meaning "rose";
• Roberta - "bright glory";
• Celia - has Italian roots - "heaven";
• Santa - in Hebrew "bright";
• Francesca is a rather popular name, meaning "good-natured";
• Felisa - a girl named by this name has a fair amount of luck;
• Ernest - has a strong meaning - "fight death";
• Eleanor - this name combines a pleasant pronunciation and an interesting meaning - "God is my light."

Perhaps your family honors Italian traditions, or you are interested in this culture. If you are looking for a beautiful name for your daughter, then there are several options on this list that you will definitely like. These names are not only very beautiful, but each is endowed with an interesting meaning. After all, many believe in the power of the influence of the name on the fate of a person.

Rare female names of Italian origin

Perhaps you want to name your daughter some rare name that doesn’t sound so often and you want something special.

We offer you to familiarize yourself with the list of rare, but beautiful Italian names for a girl:

• Paulina - the meaning of the name is “small”, in childhood she is very mobile and ready to sacrifice something for the sake of loved ones, for example, to give away a deeply adored toy;
• Eliza is “loving God”, she is brave and independent, very inquisitive as a child;
• Rosamaria - the name means "dedicated", has an innate talent. Which? And you will already know this with time;
• Annamaria - translated as "merciful", easily attached to a person. She is characterized by amorousness;
• Gina - has a majestic meaning - "queen", in her life the main role is love. A very rich and interesting life, about which you can even write a novel;
• Melania - "dark-haired, swarthy." The girl grows up very sociable and cheerful;
• Kara - the name means "black". As a child, restless, she is interested in everything and everyone;
• Fidelia - "loyal", very talkative, optimistic and independent;
• Faustina - "lucky, happy." In life, he takes an active life position, clearly knows what he wants from life;
• Carlotta - the name translates as "queen". The girl grows up friendly, attentive and serious.

These Italian names are rare but have a strong meaning. Each of them endows its owner with individual character traits.

Modern names and their meaning

Modern young Italian families prefer actual names for their children.

Therefore, we present to their attention the following popular female names with interesting meanings:

• Antonia - defined as "flower";
• Arianna - translated "immaculate, pure";
• Sofia is a very common name not only in Italy, meaning "wise";
• Carmela - happened in honor of Our Lady of Carmel;
• Frank - marked "free, bold";
• Violla - has the unusual flower meaning "violet";
• Beatrice - like Beatrice - "traveler, wayfarer";
• Rita - on behalf of Margarita - "pearl";
• Lucia - "light";
• Giovanna - translated "Yahweh is merciful";
• Paola - in accordance with the meaning, the girl is modest, quiet;
• Sarah - the name is marked as "lady, noble woman";
• Rebecca - from Hebrew - "charming, captivating."

Also relevant names in Italy are names of foreign origin, such as Giulia, Alessia, Martina, Greta, Nicole and others.

Ancient and forgotten names

Who is a supporter of modern names, and who prefers forgotten ancient names. There are many such meanings that no one can remember over time.

• Avita - the meaning was such "ancient, hereditary";
• Virgil - meant "branch" or "escape";
• Gellia - the meaning of the name has been lost, but it is still used today;
• Domitia - a girl with that name was "domesticated";
• Cassia - "empty";
• Lelia - the meaning is lost, but you can meet the bearer of this name;
• Luzia - the name marked the girl as "game, fun";
• Novia - very simply translated - "new";
• Octavia - translated "eighth";
• Pontius - "sea";
• Rufiya - the girl was rather red-haired, so the name had the meaning of "red";
• Celia - meant "snub-nosed";
• Flavia - means "yellow" or "golden";
• Cecilia - "sky";
• Emilia - had an interesting meaning "heaven";
• Juventia - in translation it meant "youth, youth."

The list of ancient female names is very large, this is only a small part. Each name has an interesting history of origin, several millennia long.

How to choose a name for a girl depending on the date of birth

Supporters of numerology, that is, birth numbers that directly affect the fate of the child and determine the innate physical and spiritual qualities, select a name in accordance with the date of birth. Summing up the numbers of the date, you can obviously assume the inherent opportunities and the life path of your child.

Calculating parents in advance, with the help of a rational selection of a name, balance the desires, abilities and character of their child. How to do it? Everything is simple. To begin with, we determine the number of the name and the number of the birthday. If the second is greater than the number of the first, then the abilities and character of the child will contribute to the suppression of the desires of the child. If on the contrary, then life will go in indulgence of his desires. In the third case, if the number of the date and the name are equal, then the character will be the most harmonious and your child will easily find himself in life.

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Colosseum in Rome

State in southern Europe. The capital is Rome. The population is about 61 million (2011). 93.52% are Italians. Other ethnic groups are French (2%); Romanians (1.32%), Germans (0.5%), Slovenes (0.12%), Greeks (0.03%), Albanians (0.17%), Turks, Azerbaijanis. The official language is Italian. Regional status are: German (in Bolzano and South Tyrol), Slovenian (in Gorizia and Trieste), French (in the Aosta Valley).

Approximately 98% of the population professes Catholicism. The center of the Catholic world, the city-state of the Vatican, is located on the territory of Rome. In 1929–1976 Catholicism was considered the state religion. Followers of Islam - 1 million 293 thousand 704 people. The third most widespread religion is Orthodoxy (1 million 187 thousand 130 followers, their number has grown due to the Romanians). The number of Protestants is 547,825 people.

The National Institute of Statistics (Italian: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, ISTAT) is responsible for identifying the official statistics of names in Italy. It was created in 1926 to collect information about the population. This institute organizes population censuses in Italy, collects operational statistics. Including the most common names of newborns. On the website of the institute, you can find data on the 30 most popular names of newborn Italian citizens - separately for boys and girls. For each name, the absolute frequency and the relative frequency (percentage of named) are given. In a separate column (third in a row), cumulative statistics are given (in %). On the website of the institute, the earliest statistics by name refers to 2007.

I will show the 30 most common names of boys and girls born in the families of Italian citizens in 2011-2013. Data for several years is given to show the dynamics of preferences in the sphere of personal names. More up-to-date data is not yet available.

Boys names

Place	2013	2012	2011
1	Francesco	Francesco	Francesco
2	Alessandro	Alessandro	Alessandro
3	Andrea	Andrea	Andrea
4	Lorenzo	Lorenzo	Lorenzo
5	Mattia	Matteo	Matteo
6	Matteo	Mattia	Gabrielle
7	Gabrielle	Gabrielle	Mattia
8	Leonardo	Leonardo	Leonardo
9	Riccardo	Riccardo	Davide
10	Tommaso	Davide	Riccardo
11	Davide	Tommaso	Federico
12	Giuseppe	Giuseppe	Luca
13	Antonio	Marco	Giuseppe
14	Federico	Luca	Marco
15	Marco	Federico	Tommaso
16	Samuele	Antonio	Antonio
17	Luca	Simone	Simone
18	Giovanni	Samuele	Samuele
19	Pietro	Pietro	Giovanni
20	Diego	Giovanni	Pietro
21	Simone	Filippo	Christian
22	Edoardo	Alessio	Nicolo"
23	Christian	Edoardo	Alessio
24	Nicolo"	Diego	Edoardo
25	Filippo	Christian	Diego
26	Alessio	Nicolo"	Filippo
27	Emanuele	Gabriel	Emanuele
28	Michele	Emanuele	Danielle
29	Gabriel	Christian	Michele
30	Danielle	Michele	Christian

Girls names

Place	2013	2012	2011
1	Sofia	Sofia	Sofia
2	Giulia	Giulia	Giulia
3	Aurora	George	Martina
4	Emma	Martina	George
5	George	Emma	Sara
6	Martina	Aurora	Emma
7	Chiara	Sara	Aurora
8	Sara	Chiara	Chiara
9	Alice	Gaia	Alice
10	Gaia	Alice	Alessia
11	Greta	Anna	Gaia
12	Francesca	Alessia	Anna
13	Anna	Viola	Francesca
14	Ginevra	Noemi	Noemi
15	Alessia	Greta	Viola
16	Viola	Francesca	Greta
17	Noemi	Ginevra	Elisa
18	Matilde	Matilde	Matilde
19	Vittoria	Elisa	Giada
20	Beatrice	Vittoria	Elena
21	Elisa	Giada	Ginevra
22	Giada	Beatrice	Beatrice
23	Nicole	Elena	Vittoria
24	Elena	Rebecca	Nicole
25	Arianna	Nicole	Arianna
26	Rebecca	Arianna	Rebecca
27	Martha	Melissa	Martha
28	Melissa	Ludovica	Angelica
29	Maria	Martha	Asia
30	Ludovica	Angelica	Ludovica

Significant naming factors

Modern Italian names are largely of Roman origin, some of which are found in ancient myths. It is interesting that some of them during the reign of Ancient Rome were only nicknames, which then lost their meaning and became full-fledged names. For example, Flavio means "blonde".

Not without the influence of the church: most of the names were formed from the names of Catholic saints. These are such famous Italian names as Sofia, Madonna, Venus, Felicia, Sergio, Carlo, Petro and others.

Modern Italian names for men were formed from Latin ones by replacing the ending -us with the Italian -o or -e. Variants with suffixes -ino, -ello, -iano are also popular: Andrea, Lorenzo, Davide, Mattia, Alessandro, Francesco, Antonio, Giovanni, Donatello, Adriano.

Naming trends today

Popular Italian female names are formed from male ones by changing the ending (-o to -a), as well as using the suffixes -ella, -ina, -etta: Chiara, Aurora, Alice, Maria, Anna, Giuseppina, Juliet.

It should be noted that modern Italians, choosing names for their children, gravitate more towards short and memorable options. And if a couple of generations ago it was fashionable to give compound names (Pierpaolo, Giampiero), today it is no longer held in high esteem. Now the influence of fashion is more about the choice of names in honor of sports idols and movie stars.
In Italy, it is not easy for parents who decide to name their child with an unusual name. Not everyone can be approved by the registration authorities: the court can prohibit the use of a particular name if it can be dangerous for the child in a certain sense. For example, a few years ago, a court forbade a couple of Italians to name their child Friday.

Male names

Most male Italian names were formed from Latin prototypes by replacing the common ending -us with -o (less often -a or -e). There are also forms with diminutive suffixes that end in -ino, -etto, -ello, -iano.

According to statistics compiled a few years ago, boys in Italy are most often called by the names of Francesco (3.5%), Alessandro (3.2%), Andrea (2.9%), Matteo (2.9%), Lorenzo (2 .6%), Gabriele (2.4%), Mattia (2.2%), Riccardo (2%), Davide (1.9%), Luca (1.8%). It is worth noting that this list is very different from what could be seen half a century ago, then Giuseppe, Giovanni and Antonio were in the top three.

Women's names

Most male names also have a female form, changing the ending -o to -a. The names of saints are very popular, as well as variants with the endings -ella, -etta, -ina.

The most common female given names today are Julia (3.5%), Sofia (3.2%), Martina (2.6%), Sarah (2.6%), Chiara (2.3%), Georgia ( 2.1%), Aurora (1.8%), Alessia (1.8%), Francesca (1.6%), Alice (1.6%). In the middle of the last century, most often girls were called Maria, Anna and Giuseppina.

In general, if you take a list of the thirty most popular names in Italy, then their owners will be 50% of men and 45% of women.

Rare and old names

As already mentioned, in the past, very often the name of the child was given in honor of a saint. But even then, many of them were very unusual and rare: Castenze, Calchedonio, Baltassare, Cipriano, Egidio. The use of such names was limited to the area where these saints were well known and revered. But non-religious names during the time of Christianity might not appear at all in civil records: often it was replaced by the closest sounding Christian counterpart or not indicated at all.

During the conquests of the Franks, Normans and Lombards, such Italianized options appeared as Arduino, Ruggiero, Grimaldo, Theobaldo. Before the rise of the Inquisition, Jewish and Arabic names were common, but later they almost completely disappeared.

Among Christian names, the majority are Roman-Latin, but there are also Greek ones: Ippolito, Sofia. Some Orthodox variants were Latinized and accepted in the Catholic society: Yuri turned into Yorio, Nikola into Nikolo.

Another category of names that have disappeared are those that have been superseded by a more modern version. For example, today the name Luisa, which is of Spanish origin, is quite widely used, while the Italian original sounds like Luigia.

Some novice researchers confuse some very similar names with Italian names. For example, the name Donna is not an Italian name at all. Rather, such a word exists in Italian, but is widely used exclusively as a designation for a woman. But Madonna is a traditional Italian name, which was quite common in the old days.

In the Middle Ages, the Piedmonese and Sicilian dialects had a great influence on the territory of the country, which brought with them a considerable number of names specific to themselves. They lost popularity and disappeared when the Tuscan dialect was recognized as the state language. Thus, at once a large group of names that prevailed in the 16th century were completely forgotten in the 18th century. Surprisingly, part of this group was revived in the last century, when there was a surge of interest in them among the bourgeois class that arose at that time.

Finding the roots of rare old names today is quite difficult. Most of the records have been lost, and scientists prefer to focus on the records of the southern regions, as the most complete and reliable. This is how the origin of the names Milvia and Milvio was determined, which was common in the Albanian communities in the south and in Rome. They appeared after the victory of Constantine on the Milvian bridge (Ponte Milvio).

A rather interesting class of medieval names is represented by derivatives of a common name, formed with the help of suffixes. Often this was done with the names of children named after older relatives, in order to simultaneously indicate both kinship and individuality. From Antonio came Antonello and Antonino, as well as Antonella and Antonina, from Katerina - Katrinella, from Margarita - Margaritella, from Giovanni and Giovanna - Giovanello, Giovanella, Ianella and Gianella.

Barbaro is the masculine form of the name Barbara, and Barbriano comes from the male version. The names Mintsiko and Masullo also came from the female Mintsika and Misulla. Geronimo is an obsolete variant of the name Gerolamo. And the name Cola is nothing more than an abbreviation for Nikola, like Toro, which has nothing to do with bulls (toro), but only represents a short form of Salvatore. Bastiano is a shortened form of the name Sebastiano. Miniko, Minika, Minikello and Minikella are derived from the earlier common names Domenico and Domenica.

Several names are derived from the titles of their masters. For example, Marquise, Tessa (from contessa - countess), Regina (queen). In fact, the name Regina does not refer to belonging to the royal family, but refers to Mary - the mother of Christ. From Mary came the forms Mariella and Mariuccia.

The names of the saints were not always of ancient origin. In old records, you can find options such as the Providence (Providenza - providence), Felicia (Felicia - well-being), Dea (Dea - goddess), Potency (Potenzia - power), Virgin and Virgin (Vergine / Virgin - chastity), Madonna, Santa (saint), Bellissima (beauty), Venus, Boniface and Benefacha, Doniza (bestowed), Violanti (fury), Mercurio and the name of obscure origin Shumi (Xhumi).
The female names Orestina, Furella, Fiuri, Ferencina, Cumonau and Doniz were unusual even for the 16th century, as were the male names Valli, Zalli, Gagliotto, Manto, Vespristiano and Angiolino.

As in Russia, every Italian has a first and last name. At least since the 16th century, a tradition has been developing in Italy for naming children by the names of their ancestors., so the first son received the name of the grandfather by the father, then the first daughter received the name of the grandmother by the father, and the second son received the name of the grandfather by the mother, the second daughter received the name of the grandmother by the mother. The rest of the children received the names of their parents, or the names of the nearest unmarried or deceased uncles and aunts. Because of this custom, the same names are repeated in Italian families from generation to generation.

Most of the names given to children at birth in Italy are from the names of saints of the Roman Catholic Church.

According to sociological research of the center, Italian mothers and fathers with enviable constancy prefer to name newborns boys - Francesco and girls - Julia. Other names included in the list of the most common in Italy: Alessandro, Mateo, Marco, Lorenzo - for the stronger sex and Sarah, Sofia, Elisa - for the inhabitants of the Apennines.

The most traditional names like Maria, Nicola and Stefano are losing their popularity among young modern parents. They follow new fashion trends and personal, sometimes extravagant taste.

Several lovers of the work of Pablo Picasso named their sons Nepomukeni (one of the many names of the artist). The "symbiosis" of actor Johnny Depa and the legendary Brazilian footballer Pele became the official name of the boy Pejon. True patriots have daughters with the proud name of Italy.

And yet the question "what to call?" depends on the religious and cultural preferences of the population of the regions of the peninsula. Italians Mateo live mostly in the north of the country, but Giuseppe and Laura are "legitimate" southerners and Sicilians. Thus, Giuseppe's parents pay tribute to Saint Giuseppe, the patron saint of the poor and disadvantaged, and the hero of Italy, the fighter for its unification, Giuseppe Garibaldi. And the beautiful senoritas of Laura for their name, it seems, should thank the beloved of the great Dante Alighieri.

It is very difficult to come up with a name for a newborn girl. The easiest way is to choose a name in honor of the Saint on whose day the baby was born. But the Italian people have gone further, they can name their child Friday, Tuesday. Translated into Russian, this girl's name may look funny, but in Italian Friday sounds like Venerdi - a beautiful Italian name. In addition, the Italians gave their children serial numbers as names, this unusual and interesting way came to the Italians from the time when families were large and large. Ordinal numbers in Italian sound very beautiful: Prima, Settima, Ottavina, Quinta. Not like in Russian: first, second, third ...

There were times when the Italians strictly followed the rules for naming children. The first-born were usually given the names of grandmothers, and the rest of the names of great-grandmothers, aunts and girlfriends. So the people were reverent and revered family ties in Italy, the Italian names of girls and boys were not mixed with other peoples. But now the opposite is true, young families call their children whatever they want. That is why the list of Italian girls' names is replenished almost every year. The list contains not only the original Italian names of girls, but also the names of other peoples.

Italian girl names:

Agostina - venerable

Lorenza - from Lorentum

Agatha is good

Luigina - warrior

Adeline - noble

Lucretia - rich

Agnes - saint, chastity

Luciana - light

Alessandra - protector of mankind

Margherita - pearl

Allegra - cheerful and lively

Marcella - female warrior

Albertina - bright nobility

Maura - dark-skinned, Moor

Alda - noble

Mimi - beloved

Annette - benefit, grace

Mirella - delightful

Beatrice - Traveler

Michelina - who is like God

Bettina - blessed

Malvolia - malevolence

Bella - God is beautiful

Marinella - from the sea

Beaty is a traveler

Nerezza - darkness

Brigid - exalted

Nicoletta - victory of the people

Bianca - white

Noelia - Nativity of the Lord

Violetta - purple flower

Norm - standard, rule

Velia - hidden

Ornella - blooming ash

Vittoria - conqueror, victory

Orebella - golden, beautiful

Wanda - moving, wanderer

Paola - small

Vincenza - conquered

Patricia - woman noblewoman

Vitalia - vital

Perlite - pearl

Gabriela - strong from God

Pirin - rock, stone

grace is pleasant

Pasquelina - Easter child

Deborah the bee

Renata - born again

Gemma is a gem

Roberta is famous

Giovanna - Good God

Rosabella - beautiful rose

Gioconda - happy

Romola - from Rome

Giorgina - peasant woman

Rosaria - rosary

Gisella - hostage

Rossella - rose

Giacinta - hyacinth flower

Sandra - protecting mankind

Jolanda - purple flower

Celeste - heavenly girl

Juliet is a young girl

Serafina - mountain

Domenica - belongs to God

Simone - listening

Donatella - given by God

Slarissa - fame

Dorothea - a gift from God

Susana - lily

Danila - God is my judge

Santazza - saint

Elena - moon

Tiziana - of the titans

Ileria - joyful, happy

Fiorella - small flower

Ines - chaste, saint

Felisa - lucky

Italia - ancient name of Italy

Ferdinanda - prepared for the trip

Caprice - capricious

fiorenza - blooming

Carmela, Carmina - sweet vineyard

Francesca - free

Clara - bright

Fulvia - yellow

Colombina - faithful dove

Chiera - clear, bright

Christina - follower of Christ

Edda - militant

Crocetta - cross, crucified

Eleanor is a foreigner, different

Capricia - capricious

Elettra - radiant, bright

Letitia - happiness

Enrica - housekeeper

Leah - always tired

Ernesta - a fighter against death