100 Italian names for boys you will love in 2023

100 Italian names for boys to help you choose the perfect Italian baby name. Popular Italian baby names for boys and 100 ideas for your precious new arrival.

When we were expecting our baby boy, we knew the Italian boy’s name we wanted. However, we didn’t tell anyone until the day he was born.

This brought lots of speculation from my family so much so that their ideas alone were sufficient to fill a list of Italian names for boys with well over 100 entries!

If you are looking for inspiration to pick the perfect Italian name for your boy, this list can help. It is based on the most popular boy names in Italy and it has also the meaning most commonly associated with them.

It follows the same format and idea of our list of 100 Italian names for girls that you can find here.

Most popular Italian names for boys in 2021-2022 (and 2023 projections)

• Leonardo
• Francesco
• Alessandro
• Lorenzo
• Mattia
• Andrea
• Tommaso
• Gabriele
• Riccardo
• Edoardo

The most popular Italian names for boys in 2020

In the previous year, popular names for boys in Italy were:

1. Alessandro
2. Lorenzo
3. Diego
4. Tommaso
5. Riccardo
6. Matteo
7. Lorenzo
8. Leonardo
9. Gabriele
10. Edoardo

Source: Istat (Italian statistical institute)

Long list ahead: pin it for later!

100 Italian names for boys, their origin and meaning

Name	Origin/ Language root	Most likely original meaning
Adriano	Latin	From Adria
Alberto	German	That who brings light thought his nobility
Aldo	German	Unsure: probably ‘wise’
Alessandro	Greek	Savior, protector of people
Alessio	Greek	Protector
Alfredo	German	Wise
Andrea	Greek	Strong
Angelo	Greek	Messenger, Angel
Antonio	Greek (unsure)	That who comes first
Antonello	See Antonio	That who comes first
Augusto	Latin	Venerable
Bernardo	German	Strong
Biagio	Latin	That who stutters
Bruno	Latin	Dark (as in: color)
Camillo	Hebrew	Minister of God (popular ancient Roman name)
Carlo	German	Valiant, King
Claudio	Latin	That who stumbles (Ancient Roman family name)
Corrado	German	Corageous in his decisions
Cosimo	Greek	Ornament or, possibly, modetate, humble
Cristian	Greek	Christian, follower of Christ
Daniele	Hebrew	Judge
Dario	Persian	That who has, rich
Davide	Hebrew	Loved
Diego	Greek	Educated, erudite
Domenico	Latin	Of God
Elio	Greek	Sun
Edoardo	Saxon	Guardian of goods
Emanuele	Ebrew	God is with us
Emilio	Latin	Rival (Roman Family name)
Emiliano	Latin (See Emilio)	Rival (Roman Family name)
Ernesto	German	Loyal, straight
Ezio	Greek	Eagle
Fabio	Latin	That who grows beans (ancient Roman family name)
Fabrizio	Latin	Faber, maker
Fausto	Latin	Lucky, fortunate, suitable
Federico	German	Rich of peace, protector
Felice	Latin	Happy
Ferdinando	Germanic	Brave, bearer of peace
Filippo	Greek	That who loves horses
Francesco	Latin	From France
Fulvio	Latin	Blond, golden
Gabriele	Hebrew	God’s strength
Giacomo	Hebrew	God protects
Gianluca	See Luca	Sacred place or possibly light
Gioele	Hewbrew	Yahvé is my God
Giovanni	Hebrew	God’s Grace
Giuliano	Latin	Devout to Jupiter (Popular Roman family name)
Giulio	Latin (see Giuliano)	Devout to Jupiter (Popular Roman family name)
Guido	German	Far (also in: that who shows the way ahead)
Lapo	Hebrew	Follower of God
Leonardo	German	Strong
Lorenzo	Latin	From Laurentium (place)
Luca	Greek (unsure)	Sacred place or possibly light
Lucio	Greek (see Luca)	Sacred place or possibly light
Ludovico	German	Strong fighter
Luigi	German (see Ludovico)	Strong fighter
Marcello	Latin	Sacred to Mars
Marco	Latin	Sacred to Mars
Mario	Etruscan	Minister of the gods
Massimo	Latin	Biggest, greatest
Massimiliano	Latin (see Massimo)	Biggest, greatest
Matteo	Hebrew	Of God
Mattia	Hebrew (see Matteo)	Of God
Maurizio	Latin	From Mauritania
Mauro	Latin (see Maurizio)	From Mauritania
Michele	Hebrew	God’s strength
Mirco	Slavic	Glorious
Neri	Tuscan variation of Ranieri, German	Deciding warrior
Nicola	Greek	Winner
Niccolo’	Greek (see Nicola)	Winner
Paolo	Latin	Little, small
Pasquale	Hebrew	Of Easter
Patrizio	Latin	Noble, Patrician
Pietro	Latin	Stone
Raffaele	Hebrew	Healer or healed
Raffaello	Hebrew (see Raffaele)	Healer or healed
Renato	Latin	Reborn
Raul	German	Strong in assembly
Riccardo	German	Strong, Dominant
Roberto	German	Glorious
Rocco	German	Crow
Rosario	Latin	Rosary
Ruggero	German	Valiant with a spear
Salvatore	Greek	Savior
Salvo	Greek	Saved
Samuele	Hebrew	His name is God
Saverio	Arabic	Splendent
Sebastiano	Greek	Illustrious
Sergio	Latin	Guardian
Silvio	Latin	Silvester, of the woods
Simone	Hebrew	God heard my voice
Stefano	Greek	Crowned
Tiziano	Latin	Dove
Tommaso	Hebrew	Twin
Tullio	Latin	Roman Name
Ugo	German	Thought
Umberto	German	Famous
Valentino	Latin	Healthy
Valerio	Latin	Strong
Vincenzo	Latin	Victorious
Vito	Latin	Life
Vittorio	Latin	Victorious
Walter	German	Strong war leader
Zeno	Greek	Devout to Zeus

Gender-neutral Italian names

The Italian language traditionally doesn’t have gender neutral names.

However, there are some names that are less gender-specific than others. These are:

• Andrea – traditionally a male name in Italy, Andrea is becoming more and more common also for girls an as a non-binary name.
• Felice (lit. happy) – like Andrea, Felice is a common male name but can also be used as neutral.
• Celeste (lit. celestial, of the sky) – more typically a female name, it can also work for boys or as a gender-neutral name
• Fiore (lit. Flower) – gaining popularity, especially in recent years
• Diamante (lit. Diamond) – traditionally a girl’s name, it can also be used as boy’s name or a gender-neutral one

In many many cases, however, gender-neutral names in Italy are often foreign names that Italian parents take from other languages that offer more flexible options.

Abroad, it is not uncommon to see Italian-inspired names for boys that have a gender-neutral nature.

Names like Armani, Alessi, Fendi names inspired by locations or brands are Italian in feel but traditional and not commonly found in Italy (or at least, not yet!)

I hope you enjoyed these Italian names for boys and that helped you pick the perfect baby name!