Italian girl names

Cara is a simple, sweet, Italian endearment that enjoyed its greatest popularity from the 1970s through the 1990s, reaching a high of Number 189 in 1977. Despite the rising celebrity of English model/actress Cara Delevingne, who played Enchantress in Suicide Squad, Cara dropped off the Top 1000 in the US in 2020, perhaps because it sounds too close to the dreaded Karen.

Carina is a pretty delicately feminine name whose fall from popularity is not helped by its similarity to hurricane name Katrina or slang victim Karen.

While Charlotte and Caroline are considered stylish and classic members of the Charles family, this somewhat severe Germanic form is fading. It reached its apex at Number 76 in 1965.

Carlotta has a large measure of finger-snapping charm and substance — despite being a not too pleasant character in The Little Mermaid. Carlotta is also the diva/prima donna in The Phantom of the Opera, and there was an Empress Carlotta of Mexico.

Languid, romantic, and classy, this variation heats up Caroline and modernizes Carol, adding a southern accent.

This name of a touristed island in sight of Los Angeles makes an attractive and newly stylish variation on the classic Catherine or overused Caitlin.

If your ancestry is Italian, you may want to consider this elegant twist on a classic.

Cecilia is a lovely classic name deservedly enjoying a new turn in the sun. Always among the Top 500 girls' names in the US, Cecilia is now at its highest point ever.

Chiara is a lovely and romantic Italian name that's familiar but not widely used here: a real winner. You might consider Chiara instead of Claire, Clara, Cara, or even Keira.

Clara is a strong, lovely girls' name that's always ranked among the US Top 1000 girl names but has been climbing since the turn of this century. It now ranks right around Number 100, making it a modern classic that's neither too popular nor unfamiliar.

If you’re a fan of the annual animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you’ll recognize the name of Rudolph’s beautiful doe sweetheart, pronounced cla-REES—uncomfortably close to the Silence of the Lambs pronunciation. Clarice was the name of the wife of Lorenzo de' Medici, and Clarice Cliff was a famed British ceramics artist. Though a Top 300 name from 1906 to 1934, modern parents might prefer the more delicate Clarissa.

Clarissa, the daintier version of Claire, has a long literary history of its own, having been featured in the novels of Samuel Richardson, Charles Dickens, and Virginia Woolf—Clarissa was the title character of Mrs. Dalloway—not to mention the 1990s teen sitcom, Clarissa Explains it All.

Cora is a lovely, old-fashioned girls' that has been recently rejuvenated by its contemporary-feeling simplicity. In fact, Cora seemed headed straight for the top of the popularity list when the coronavirus pandemic somewhat weakened its appeal.

Coralia was the name of a dancing mermaid in a 19th century ballet. As Cora -- which has another root and means maiden -- rises, so may elaborations and related names such as Coralie, Coraline, and Coralia.

Italianate variation of Cosette, from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables.

Cristina is one case where the streamlined version feels more alluring.