615+ Italian Names for Girls and Boys

The rare name Genoveva might be thought of as a variation of the French names Genevieve or Geneva, which have different roots and meanings. An unusual, pretty choice.

Benvenuto Cellini, the great Italian sculptor and writer -- a true Renaissance man -- could inspire this creative choice.

A nickname that sounds like a nickname.

The water, period.

Agostino is the Italian form of this increasingly popular ancient name.

This is an outside possibility for opera-lovers, with the additional eco/color factor.

A Latinate name with a lot of dash and bravado.

This name taken from one of the legendary founders of Rome suddenly feels more possible for a baby in the English-speaking world, with the rise of many Rome-related names, from Roman to Romy to Romilly and Romaine.

Federica is the Latin version of Frederica, one of those formerly stuffy female names -- think Josephine and Eleanor -- that feels fresh and elegant again. And Federica has more energy without that first r.

One of the most attractive and unusual spins on the "Fran" franchise.

Gaeta is a southern Italian region; this makes a sunny first name.

Variant of Hortensia, an unusual floral name and the name of a secondary character in Roald Dahl's Matilda.

Bello is as handsome as Bella is beautiful, but rarely heard outside the Italian community. With its energetic 'o' ending, it could be ripe for export.

Orsola is chic in Italy in a way that Ursula is not in the U.S. And English speakers will inevitably hear this chic, sleek name as Ursula, condemned to purgatory as the name of the hideous sea-witch who terrorized Disney's Little Mermaid.