Italian Name Generator
Italian given names and surnames from trades, places, nicknames and the foundling registers, each fragment shown with its real meaning.
218,550 combinations
Male and female italian names, each with a matching italian last name and the meaning of every element shown.
- Ettore Italo Toscano
Ettore holding fast + Italo of italy
holding fast and of italy
Toscano the tuscan
- Margherita Sara Carbone
Margherita pearl + Sara princess
pearl and princess
Carbone coal
- Gregorio Renato Russo
Gregorio watchful + Renato reborn
watchful and reborn
Russo red one
- Barbara Emma Toscano
Barbara foreign + Emma whole
foreign and whole
Toscano the tuscan
- Ruggero Valentino Vitale
Ruggero famous spear + Valentino strong
famous spear and strong
Vitale full of life
- Giorgia Valeria Ferrari
Giorgia earth worker + Valeria vigorous
earth worker and vigorous
Ferrari the smiths
- Vincenzo Santo Molinari
Vincenzo conquering + Santo holy
conquering and holy
Molinari the millers
- Manuela Pia Neri
Manuela god with us + Pia pious
god with us and pious
Neri the black ones
- Filippo Vito Greco
Filippo horse lover + Vito life
horse lover and life
Greco the greek
- Carla Olga Villa
Carla free woman + Olga holy
free woman and holy
Villa farmstead
- Alberto Gerardo Serra
Alberto bright noble + Gerardo brave spear
bright noble and brave spear
Serra mountain ridge
- Flavia Amalia Vaccaro
Flavia golden yellow + Amalia industrious
golden yellow and industrious
Vaccaro cowherd
- Carlo Aldo Romano
Carlo free man + Aldo old one
free man and old one
Romano the roman
- Marina Delia Lupo
Marina of the sea + Delia from Delos
of the sea and from Delos
Lupo wolf
- Paolo Arnaldo Mancini
Paolo small + Arnaldo eagle ruler
small and eagle ruler
Mancini left-handed
- Nicoletta Selene Barbieri
Nicoletta victory of people + Selene moon
victory of people and moon
Barbieri the barbers
- Ruggero Bruno Barbieri
Ruggero famous spear + Bruno brown
famous spear and brown
Barbieri the barbers
- Nicoletta Valentina Sartori
Nicoletta victory of people + Valentina strong
victory of people and strong
Sartori the tailors
- Federico Flavio Napolitano
Federico peaceful ruler + Flavio golden yellow
peaceful ruler and golden yellow
Napolitano the neapolitan
- Filomena Orsola Vaccaro
Filomena lover of strength + Orsola little bear
lover of strength and little bear
Vaccaro cowherd
- Alberto Aldo Russo
Alberto bright noble + Aldo old one
bright noble and old one
Russo red one
- Fiorella Valentina Gentile
Fiorella little flower + Valentina strong
little flower and strong
Gentile the wellborn
- Paolo Ugo Carbone
Paolo small + Ugo mind
small and mind
Carbone coal
- Arianna Roberta Serra
Arianna most holy + Roberta bright fame
most holy and bright fame
Serra mountain ridge
Need a name that means something in particular? Build one from its meaning.
How Italian names are built
¶Italian given names come in pairs far more often than English ones. Marco Antonio, Gian Luca, Pier Paolo, Anna Maria and Maria Grazia are single units to an Italian ear, and the pair is frequently written solid: Gianluca, Pierpaolo, Mariagrazia. The stock behind them is Latin, Greek and Germanic. Longobard rule left Aldo, Corrado, Arnaldo and Ubaldo; the Church left the saints; Latin left the plain descriptions such as Primo, Fortunato and Placido.
Surnames tell you what a family did, where it came from, or what a neighbour called it. Ferrari, Fabbri and Sartori are smiths and tailors in the plural. Toscano, Napolitano, Calabrese and Ferrara name a region or a town. Rossi, Bianchi, Ricci, Mancini and Longo are nicknames: the red one, the white one, curly, left-handed, tall. The plural -i is the older form, meaning the household of, so Rossi is literally the Rossos.
One group of surnames is unlike any other in Europe. Foundlings left at a church or a wheel were registered under a name that said so, and those names became hereditary. Esposito means exposed, Proietti cast out, Trovato found, Innocenti the innocents. Others were consoling rather than blunt: Diotallevi, may God raise you, and Casadei, house of God. Millions of southern Italians carry them, and the origin is now several centuries out of living memory.
More italian names
Male italian names
- Giorgio Gilberto Sartori earth worker and bright pledge
- Orlando Flavio Romano famous land and golden yellow
- Enrico Ottavio Casadei home ruler and eighth
- Filippo Santo Moretti horse lover and holy
- Carlo Gerardo Caruso free man and brave spear
- Orlando Franco Casadei famous land and the frank
- Fabio Patrizio Martinelli bean farmer and nobleman
- Silvio Oreste Farina of the woods and mountain man
- Francesco Placido Rizzo the frenchman and calm
- Lorenzo Maurizio Innocenti from Laurentum and dark skinned
- Giorgio Ubaldo Lupo earth worker and bold mind
- Marco Patrizio Bruno of Mars and nobleman
- Riccardo Renato Martinelli strong ruler and reborn
- Carlo Oreste Coppola free man and mountain man
- Domenico Gerardo Coppola of the lord and brave spear
- Vittorio Gaetano Vitale conqueror and from Gaeta
- Vittorio Vito Calabrese conqueror and life
- Pietro Primo Esposito stone and first born
Female italian names
- Alice Raffaella Villa noble kind and healed by god
- Arianna Selene Sartori most holy and moon
- Carla Roberta Neri free woman and bright fame
- Carla Silvana Molinari free woman and of the woods
- Lucia Amalia Russo luminous and industrious
- Angela Sara Caruso messenger and princess
- Eva Emma Santoro life and whole
- Franca Stefania Gallo the frank and crown
- Luisa Raffaella Trovato famous in war and healed by god
- Franca Ada Toscano the frank and noble
- Grazia Raffaella Fontana favour and healed by god
- Marcella Rosa Bruno of Mars and rose
- Bianca Sofia Monti white and wisdom
- Isabella Consolata Lupo oath sworn and consoled
- Filomena Celeste Casadei lover of strength and heavenly
- Filomena Valeria Fontana lover of strength and vigorous
- Domenica Paola Napolitano of the lord and small
- Licia Silvia Rinaldi from Lycia and of the forest
Questions
What are common Italian last names?
Rossi is the most common, followed by Russo, Ferrari, Esposito, Bianchi, Romano, Colombo and Ricci. Most are one of four kinds: a colour nickname, a trade, a place of origin, or a foundling name. Regional patterns are strong, so Esposito clusters around Naples and Rossi across the north and centre.
Why does Esposito mean foundling?
Esposito comes from esposto, exposed, the term used when an abandoned child was left at a church or a foundling wheel. Registrars in Naples and elsewhere entered such children under it, and once the child grew up and had children of its own the name became hereditary like any other. Trovato, Proietti and Innocenti have the same origin.
What does the -ini or -etti ending mean on an Italian surname?
They are diminutive plurals. Martinelli is the little Martins, Moretti the little dark ones, Bellini the little beautiful ones. Italian stacks these endings freely, so a single root can give Rossi, Rossetti, Rossini and Rossellini. The augmentative -one runs the other way and means the big one.
How do Italian first names work with saints' days?
Traditionally a child took the name of the saint whose feast fell near the birth, which is why Pasquale, Natale, Gennaro and Assunta exist as personal names. In much of Italy the onomastico, the name day, was celebrated in preference to the birthday, and in many families it still is.