Italian Girls’ Names: Le tante sorelle di Isabella
Elisabeth _Wilborn, creator of one of our absolute favorite blogs, You Can’t Call It “It,” introduces us to the wide world of great Italian girls’ names beyond Isabella. Elisabeth__, a writer, artist, and mom, lives in Brooklyn__, New _York.
You don’t have to be Italian to fawn all over Isabella.
She’s lyrical, historical, and even practical with nicknames Bella and Izzy at the ready. It’s no surprise that she and cohorts Olivia and Sophia would be storming up the charts, now assuming spots 1, 3, and 4. But are these the only options for little girls if you want to honor your Italian heritage?
Let’s take a look at what people are choosing in New Jersey. As housewife fame has evidenced, they’re heavy on Italian pride.
Top picks for the state include:
Adriana (#64), Adrianna (#95), Angelina (#30), Ariana (#46), Arianna (#43),Gabriella (12), Gianna (#11), Julia (#19- Giulia in Italy), Isabella (#1), Juliana (#49), Julianna (#63), Maria (#65), Natalia (#72), Olivia (#2), Sophia (#3), Valentina (#92), Victoria (#22- Vittoria in Italy).
Italian-American mothers often lament that all the good names are taken by their family and friends.
I assure you the options are vast!
If you’ll be summering with Nonna in Toscana, you may want a choice that is both well loved there and reads undeniably Italian here (rankings are from Italy in 2008): Alessia (#8), Chiara (#5), Federica (#21), Francesca (#9), Giada(#13), Giorgia (#6), Ludovica (#27), Ilaria (#25), Vittoria (#26).
Italy also has a few popular names that wouldn’t necessarily scream Carbonara: Alice (#10), Anna (#11), Beatrice (#18), Elisa (#12), Emma (#14), Greta (#14), Marta (#29), Martina (#3), Matilde (#15), Nicole (#30), Noemi (#19), Sara (#4). Note Alice and Beatrice are pronounced ah-LEE-che and be-ah-TREE-che.
A triumvirate of recent Cosimas, Claudia Schiffer’s child, Sofia Coppola’s baby, and a Windsor 22nd in line to the throne, remind us that there are still other genuine Italian names to cull from the history books. Some are quite antique, but just as we have “old lady chic” here, so too do they in Italy.
I urge you to take a chance on an ancient beauty:
Costanza
Marina, Marinella
Raffaella
Taddea
Should you have a boy, Armani may rank in the top 100 for males in Rhode Island, but does not come recommended as a genuinely Italian choice.
Elisabeth can be reached at:
Website: http://youcantcallitit.com
Twitter: youcantcallitit LINK: http://twitter.com/youcantcallitit
Facebook: You Can’t Call It “It”! LINK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/You-Cant-Call-It-It/139903029361365?ref=sgm