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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

REVEALED: These are Italy’s most popular baby names

The latest list of Italy's most popular baby names has been published - and as with so many things in this country, there are regional differences.

Published: 21 December 2022 12:57 CET
Updated: 27 December 2022 09:37 CET
REVEALED: These are Italy's most popular baby names
Italy's most popular baby names remain largely unchanged in 2021 from previous years. Photo by Kevin Keith on Unsplash

Sofia and Leonardo remained the most popular names given to new babies in Italy last year, according to Italian statistics agency Istat.

Istat on Monday released the latest list of names most frequently given to newborns in the country as part of its annual report on births, based on data from 2021.

Sofia has been the most popular girls’ name in Italy since 2010, Istat said. In 2021, a total of 5,578 babies were given the name, or just under three percent of baby girls.

Aurora was the second most popular choice, up from third place last year, followed by Giulia and Ginevra.

For boys, Leonardo has also been top of the list since 2018, and was the favourite by a long way in 2021, when the name was given to a total of 8,448 baby boys, or some four percent of boys born in the country.

The second most popular choice for boys was Alessandro, followed by Tommaso and Francesco, all of which were given to just under 5,000 babies each.

READ ALSO: Will my children get an Italian passport if born in Italy?

Classic boys’ names tend to dominate such lists in Italy, where many families traditionally name baby boys after their paternal grandfather or another male relative.

Girls are also often named after their paternal grandmothers, but as the list of most popular names shows, more modern or international-sounding girls’ names have also become popular.

Here are the top ten Italian babies’ names:

Boys: 

1 Leonardo 

2 Alessandro 

3 Tommaso 

4 Francesco 

5 Lorenzo 

6 Edoardo 

7 Mattia 

8 Riccardo

9 Gabriele 

10 Andrea 

Girls: 

1 Sofia 

2 Aurora

3 Giulia

4 Ginevra

5 Beatrice

6 Alice

7 Vittoria

8 Emma

9 Ludovica

10 Matilde

Altogether, Istat has recorded more than 26,000 different names for boys and 25,000 for girls since 1999, including composite names (such as Mariagrazia or Gianluca).

But the top 30 this year accounted for some 44 percent of all names given to boys and almost 38 percent for girls.

The data also revealed a north-south divide in name choices. Sofia was the most popular girls’ name in all the northern and central-northern regions, while parents in most of the south and centre went for Giulia or Aurora instead.

For boys, Leonardo was by far the favourite choice across all regions in the north and centre except for the autonomous province of Bolzano, where Noah took the top spot.

The southern regions of Puglia and Calabria preferred Francesco, while Antonio was the most popular in Campania and Basilicata, despite not being in the top ten overall.

The 20 most popular boys’ and girls’ names in Italy in 2021. Source: Istat

Among non-Italian parents living in Italy, the most popular names differed, although included many typically Italian names such as Leonardo, Matteo, Luca, and Alessandro, according to data which looked at the country’s four biggest international populations.

Leonardo and Sofia were especially popular with Romanian-born parents, as well as David, Gabriel, Sofia Maria, Eva Maria, Noemi or Melissa.

Albanian parents were more likely to choose names like Aron, Liam, Enea, or Noel for boys, or Emily, Aurora, Ambra, Chloe and Emma for girls.

READ ALSO: How much does it cost to raise a child in Italy?

The majority of Moroccan boys meanwhile were named Adam, Amir, Rayan, Youssef and Jad, while the top girls’ names were Amira, Jannat, Nour, Sara and Lina. 

Parents from Bangladesh favoured Abdullah, Anas, Arham and Ayan for boys, and Fatima, Sara, Ayesha, Maryam and Raisa for girls.

See the full list of baby names on the Istat website, which allows you to search the database to find out how many babies in Italy were given any name each year since 1999.

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LEARNING ITALIAN

Boh, mah, eh: Five strange noises Italians make and what they mean

Fancy vocab isn't the only way to impress your friends in Italy - these quirky interjections could actually be the key to sounding like a local.

Published: 2 May 2024 14:19 CEST
Boh, mah, eh: Five strange noises Italians make and what they mean

For most Italian-language learners, it’s a familiar scenario: you kick off your learning journey with textbooks and courses to familiarise yourself with all the tricky grammar and vocabulary, but as soon as you start talking to a native speaker, you hear words you’ve never come across before, as well as some slightly confusing noises.

These funny sounds, which are usually referred to as interjections by language experts, can be used to express anything from exhaustion to anger to surprise, or even to check whether the person you’re talking to is listening.

Whether your ultimate goal is to sound like a native or simply add some natural flair to your Italian, it’s worth getting familiar with the most popular interjections and trying to incorporate them in your everyday conversations.

Boh

If you live in Italy, chances are there are a few things that you find slightly puzzling about the country and for which you may have no immediate explanation. 

For instance, why are Italians always so late? Or why are they so obsessed with cleaning? 

Your answer to both of the above questions may be boh.

READ ALSO: Etto, ino, ello: How to make Italian words smaller

Boh is a common way to say ‘I don’t know’ in informal situations, with Italians often underlining their point by thrusting their chin forward and pulling down their lips.

Remember: boh doesn’t rhyme with ‘oh’ or ‘so’ in English; it sounds more like a ‘buh’. Hear the correct pronunciation here.  

Beh

One vowel can make all the difference in the world in Italian, so be careful not to confuse the above-mentioned boh with beh. 

Beh (pronunciation available here) is actually a short version of bene, which is the Italian equivalent of the English ‘well’ and can, in most cases, be translated as such.

For instance:

Beh, potrebbe andare peggio. Potrebbe piovere.

Well, it could be worse. It could be raining.

Beh, e’ molto piu’ veloce di quanto pensassi.

Well, he’s way quicker than I thought.

You’ll often find beh followed by senti (‘well, listen…’) or insomma (‘well, not really…’).

Eh

Eh might not be the most beautiful word in the Italian language, but it’s certainly one of the most versatile as it can be used to express a huge variety of emotions – from astonishment to irritation to regret – depending on the tone of voice you use.

Unlike the English ‘eh’, the Italian eh doesn’t rhyme with ‘may’: it’s a short vowel sound, like the one in ‘meh’ (hear its pronunciation here). 

As for how to translate it, eh can be anything from ‘yeah’ to ‘right’ to ‘what?’ .

M’ha chiuso la porta in faccia!

Eh?!

He shut the door in my face!

What?!

Lo conosci?

Eh, e quindi?

Do you know him?

Yeah, so what? 

You can also use it to ask questions, either because you expect someone to agree with you or because you haven’t heard what they said.

Bella giornata, eh?

Nice day, right?

Uffa

If you ever find yourself irritated or annoyed by something in Italy (and you probably will at some point), uffa is one of the best ways to express it in everyday speech.

It means the same as ‘ugh’ or ‘geez’ in English, and is pronounced ‘ooh-fah’, with a very strong emphasis on the ‘f’.

READ ALSO: ‘I’m not Onassis’: Seven things Italian dads say and what they mean

It is very informal, but it isn’t vulgar and you’ll hear people of all ages use it. 

Uffa, ho dimenticato di comprare il sapone.

Ugh, I forgot to buy the soap.

Mah

Mah (hear it pronounced here) is one of the most popular ways to express doubt or uncertainty about something that may or may not happen in the future. Think of it as a short version of chi lo sa? (‘who knows?’). 

Come pensi andra’ a finire?

Mah…Non ho una palla di cristallo purtroppo.

How do you think it will pan out?

Who knows…I don’t have a crystal ball unfortunately.

You can also use it to tease someone.

Mi stai preparando una sorpresa per l’anniversario di matrimonio?

Mah! Vedremo…

Are you preparing a surprise for our wedding anniversary?

Who knows! We’ll see…

Mah can sometimes be used interchangeably with boh, though boh is more commonly used with things that the speaker doesn’t know about but other people may, whereas mah generally applies to situations or outcomes that no one can possibly know about as they haven’t happened yet.

Do you have another favourite Italian interjection that’s not on this list? Let us know in the comments section below.

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