Once upon a time in sunny Italy, there was a tradition of calling newborns one of the "family" names. In those days, infants often received names in honor of deceased or most revered relatives. However, this custom is still preserved in some parts of the Apennine Peninsula.
But every year, cheerful Italians, when choosing children's names, show all the great creativity and even a sense of humor. Which female and male Italian names are most popular now?
Some parents are not averse to calling their children numerals: those mothers and fathers with many children who simply don’t have enough imagination when choosing the name of the future (for example, the ninth) offspring come to this decision.
Quinta (Quinta - “Fifth”), Sesto (Sesto - “Sixth”) or Settima (Settima - “Seventh”) are quite acceptable and even names common to Italy.
A few decades ago, the names of newborns were selected solely for certain reasons, which could be called rules to some extent. Firstborn masculine should be called in honor of grandfather on the father’s side younger brother called in honor of grandfather on the maternal side, third baby wore name of his father, and if it was born fourth boy - he was destined to proudly wear great-grandfather's name in the line of the father.
With the kids, it was also very difficult: first girl gave father's mother name, second daughter had to wear mom's grandmother's name, third sister got mother's name, but fourth - name of grandmother father. And all other offspring of large families were given the names of other grandparents from both parents.
The Italian custom of giving the names of deceased relatives to children is excellent evidence that the people of this amazing country highly honor the memory of deceased loved ones.
If one of the relatives was dying, his name was passed on to the infant that soon appeared. Thus, the baby only revered the memory of the deceased by his existence, constantly reminding his parents of another member of the family who had gone into the world.
Modern and advanced Italians now prefer everything American.
They could not avoid such a tendency in choosing names for their own children. Today, a huge number of babies and children with outlandish names live in the country. Often, newborns are named after popular movie and music stars, or they are all called with names in a foreign manner. However, despite the fact that the original Italian names are slowly going out of fashion, Roman Catholics undoubtedly remain in the foreground.
Today, men's names are especially popular. Luke (Luca), Mario (Mario), Marco (Marco), Matteo (Matteo), Alessandro (Alessandro), Lorenzo (Lorenzo) and Simone (Simone). Girls are most often called Maria (Maria), Francesca (Francesca), Martina (Martina) and Chiara (Chiara).
Many Italian names are very long, so friends and relatives usually abbreviate them when referring. Mysterious names such as Felice (Felice - happy), Benvenutta (Benvenuta - from ben venuto - welcome) or Angelo (Angelo - angel) are not uncommon in Italy.
