| Italian baby names - like the language | | | | of the many saints has a special feast day, |
| itself, can be very beautiful, flowing and | | | | for example the 3rd of March is the feast day |
| romantic. Who can resist the beautiful | | | | of St. Tereza Verzeri - one of many different |
| sounding Allesandro (literal meaning "The | | | | St Tereza's! The name day is celebrated just |
| protector and helper of mankind"), or | | | | like the birthday and is seen as just as |
| Giovanni ("God is gracious") or Carmela ("A | | | | important. |
| garden or orchard"). | | | | |
| | | | But you don't have to be Italian, Catholic, |
| Italian is a romance language and this is | | | | or willing to have 2 birthday celebrations to |
| reflected in the beauty of the names. | | | | start consideirng the use of an Italian name |
| However, surprisingly, the range of Italian | | | | for your child. In this fast shrinking and |
| baby names is actually quite narrow due to | | | | individualistic world, Italian names are |
| the historically very traditional methods | | | | becoming more and more common in some of the |
| used in naming babies. | | | | most unusual places - witness how many |
| | | | Brazillian soccer players seem to have |
| In Italy, there has always been a very firm | | | | Italian names!! |
| set of rules for naming children, i.e.; | | | | |
| | | | So, what are currently, the most popular |
| The first male is always named after his | | | | Italian names? Here are the top 10 most |
| paternal grandfather. | | | | popular Italian baby names registered by |
| | | | baptism in Italy: |
| The second male is always named after his | | | | |
| maternal grandfather. | | | | MALE / FEMALE |
| | | | |
| The first female is always named after her | | | | 1.Giuseppe / Maria |
| paternal grandmother. | | | | |
| | | | 2.Giovanni / Anna |
| The second female is always named after her | | | | |
| maternal grandmother. | | | | 3.Antonio / Giuseppina |
| | | | |
| The subsequent children can then be named be | | | | 4.Mario / Rosa |
| named after the parents, favorite aunts or | | | | |
| uncles, a saint or a deceased relative. This | | | | 5.Luigi / Angela |
| all-pervasive custom has created the | | | | |
| situation where many Italian families have | | | | 6.Francesco / Giovanna |
| several children, of similar ages, with | | | | |
| exactly the same names. For example, if a | | | | 7.Angelo / Teresa |
| man named Giovanni has 3 sons and each of | | | | |
| them get married and have their own children, | | | | 8.Vincenzo / Lucia |
| in all 3 cases, the first boy born into the | | | | |
| family would be named Giovanni. Similarly, | | | | 9.Pietro / Carmela |
| the first girl would be named after | | | | |
| Giovanni's wife. Given that Italians have, | | | | 10.Salvatore / Caterina |
| traditionally been devout Catholics with a | | | | |
| tendency to have large families, you can see | | | | Italian names are not only beautiful |
| how family gatherings could become quite | | | | sounding, but also usually have very nice |
| confusing!! | | | | meanings. There are lots of good Internet |
| | | | sites featuring some excellent lists of |
| If this isn't confusing enough, Italians | | | | Italian names, together with their meanings, |
| often also have 2 birthday celebrations! As | | | | so its quite easy to explore this option when |
| well as the birthday itself, Italians often | | | | choosing a baby name. Remember also that |
| celebrate their "Name Day", or Onomastico. | | | | many Italian names are Latin derivatives of |
| Italian babies often have one of their names | | | | other names, so why not give them a try - |
| connected to a particular patron saint, e.g. | | | | after all, doesn't Gianni and Caterina sound |
| the saint of their town, or a saint who has a | | | | a just little bit nicer than John and |
| special significance for their parents. Each | | | | Catherine? |