Italian girl names : the top twenty Italian first names for baby girls.

Family traditions and Italian girl names : the most popular baby first names, their meaning, saint's day and naming traditions in Italy.

So you have an Italian background?

You want to carry on the Italian family traditions when it comes to naming your baby girl?

Or perhaps you just love Italy and its culture and want to introduce Italian naming traditions into your own family customs.

You've come to exactly the right place!

Italian girl names and naming traditions.

If you've ever tried to trace your Italian family tree you'll have come across a lot of relatives with the same names. That's because naming traditions have followed a clear pattern down through the generations.

That pattern applies to both Italian boy names and names for baby girls.

For girls, this is how Italian family traditions of choosing names works :

The first girl is named after her father's mother;
The second girl is named after her mother's mother;
Any other girl can be named after her parents, aunts, a close friend or the saint's day on which she was born.

It doesn't always work that way though. If the first-born child is a girl, she may well be given the female version of her paternal grandfather's name to show respect for him : Antonia for Antonio; Angela for Angelo; Giuseppina for Giuseppe.

And we know of one family whose parents were so crazy about opera that they named all their children after characters from their favourite opera. So don't rely on these naming traditions if you're trying to trace your family tree!

Italian first names and the saint's day.

Most of the Italian girl names that go back for generations will have their origins in religion and, specifically, in saints of the Roman Catholic Church.

Originally that name will have been given to celebrate the patron saint of the parents' village, or the saint of the day on which the person was born.

An individual's 'saint's day', or 'onomastico', is one of the Italian family traditions that's still upheld in some parts of Italy, particularly in the south of the country.

It's a bit like having a second birthday : cards may be sent, sweets given, an Italian cake made, or at the very least your mother or aunt will telephone to wish you a happy 'name day'.

Those who have names which don't have a specific name day celebrate on November 1st - All Saints' Day.

So why not adopt this naming tradition in your own family? Find out when your family's name days are and use our free interactive e-cards to send them a greeting.

Italian girl names.

Here are the twenty most popular Italian first names for baby girls.

To help you, we've also included each name's meaning, the English equivalent where there is one, and the date of their 'onomastico'.

Name	Meaning	Equivalent	Name day
Maria	Much-beloved	Maria / Mary	Septmber 12th
Anna	Graceful	Ann(e)	July 26th
Giuseppina	God-given daughter	Josephine	March 19th
Rosa	Rose	Rose(mary)	August 23rd
Angela	Messenger of god	Angela	Easter Monday
Giovanna	Gracious	Joan	May 30th
Teresa	Huntress	Theresa	October 15th
Lucia	Light	Lucy	December 13th
Carmela	Divine garden	Carmel	July 17th
Caterina	Pure	Catherine	April 29th
Francesca	Free	Frances	March 9th
Anna Maria	Graceful much beloved	Ann-Marie	June 9th
Antonietta	First-born	Antoinette	February 28th
Giulia / Giulietta	Youthful	Julie / Julia	May 21st
Elena	Moonlight	Helen	August 18th
Concetta	Conceived	No equivalent	December 8th
Laura	Honour	Laura	October 19th
Margherita	Pearl	Margaret	February 22nd
Chiara	Luminous	Cla(i)re	August 11th
Paola	Modest	Paula	January 26th