75 Italian Last Names That Make Great First Names

Italy is home to the best food, the richest history, and the most lyrical names that roll right off the tongue. Italian last names are a great place to look for baby name inspiration as many of these appellations sound great for both boys and girls and each has a story to tell. If you have Italian heritage, you would be wise to choose one of these as a unique first or middle name choice.

You have undoubtedly encountered many Italian last names but you might not have known the story or meaning behind the name. We want to share with you the meanings of these treasured names to help you learn more about Italian naming culture, the history of these names, and Italy overall. We have found 75 Italian last names that we think are more than suitable to serve as first names for a baby. Enjoy!

Check Out These Italian Last Names!

Italian Last Names That Start with A

Join us as we look at Italian last names by letter! While many of these names are unisex, some sound better for boys while others are even more precious for girls. A good rule of thumb is that names ending in I or O are generally masculine with those ending in A, feminine. We will also let you know if a name leans one direction or the other!

• Arco – An occupational name, meaning “bow maker.”
• Argenio – Meaning “silver”
• Allegra – Meaning “cheerful,” can also be made more masculine in the Allegro form

Italian Last Names That Start with B and Make Great First Names

• Bari – A place name, meaning “from Bari,” an Adriatic port and chief city of Apulia
• Biagi – An Italian personal name from Biagio, which comes from the Latin, Blasius, meaning “to stammer”
• Bono – An Italian name, probably best suited for boys thanks to the U2 frontman, from the Latin family name, Bonus, meaning “good”

Italian Last Names That Start with C

• Calvi – Perhaps a perfect alternative to Calvin, Calvi or singular form Calvo, are Italian last names that come from the Latin, Calvus, meaning “bald”
• Capri – A name best suited for a girl but potentially a fresh choice for a boy as well, Capri means “island” and “fanciful”
• Ceci – The patronymic form of Cece, an occupational name, meaning “seller of chickpeas”

Italian Last Names That Start with D

• Danella – An Italian form of a Hebrew name that brings us Daniel, meaning “judged by God”
• Deo – A diminutive form of a number of Italian last names like Amadeo, Laudadeo, or Sperindeo, meaning “godlike”
• Domenico – Domenico is an excellent name that can be made more femme with its alternative form Domenica, meaning “of the Lord” from Latin, Dominicus

Italian Last Names That Start with E

• Enea – An Italian name from the Latin, Aeneas, a Trojan hero credited with the formation of Rome, meaning “in-dweller”
• Eramo – An Italian name with Greek origins, meaning “to love”
• Errigo – A Italian patronymic form of Enrico, from German roots that give us Henry

Last Names That Start with F

• Falco – An occupational name, meaning “falconer”
• Farina – Another occupational name, meaning “wheat flower,” and referring to a miller or flour merchant, probably best for girls
• Fisco – An alternative form of Frisco, itself a diminutive form of Francisco, meaning “the Frenchman,” appropriate for boys

Italian Last Names That Start with G

• Gaeta – A habitational name meaning, “from Gaeta,” sometimes called Gaytan, a name best for girls
• Galli – A form of the Italian name, Gallo, which can be interpreted to mean “rooster,” an ethnic name for a Gaul, or a habitational name for those from Souther Italy (Gallo Matese)
• Garbo – Garbo is an Italian name meaning “polite,” or in the Venetian dialect, “abrupt,” best for boys

More Italian Last Names That Start with G

• Guida – You’re likely more familiar with the more masculine Guido form of this name, but either refer to an occupation as in a “guide” or a “goat herder”
• Gatta – From Old Italian, meaning “cat”
• Giro – A habitational name, meaning “someone from Girona”

Italian Last Names That Start with I

• Imondi – A name that we feel sounds great for both boys and girls, a form of Gimondi taken from a Germanic personal name
• Inga – Best for girls, Inga is a occupational name for a scribe as its Sicilian roots mean “ink”
• Iocco – A diminutive form of a lost Italian personal name, likely from Cocco, meaning “egg” or “dear one”

Italian Last Names That Start with L

• Laino – A name best for boys, a habitational one, meaning “from Laìno in Calabria”
• Lando – Another name for boys, Lando is an Italian surname that comes from any other surname with “land” in it like Orlando, Rolando, and Landolfo
• Leto – We know we are serving you a bunch of boy names, but the next three are for little girls! Leto is an Italian name from Latin, meaning “joyful”

More Italian Last Names That Start with L

• Lualetta – As promised, here are names that favor girls. Lualetta is a habitational name for someone from Auletta (Campania)
• Lenzi – Actually, we lied. This name can go either way! Lenzi is a form of Lenzo which comes from Lorenzo and means “spirited” and “bald”
• Lilla – A form of Lillo, meaning “letters”

Italian Last Names That Start with M

• Mare – Best for girls, an Italian form of Mary, meaning “bitter”
• Marte – Either from Greek, meaning “March” or from the Calabrian dialect as a name meaning “Tuesday”
• Mauro – From Latin, Marius, meaning “dark skin”

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Italian Last Name That Start with N

• Nicola – An Italian name from Greek, a form of Nicholas, meaning “victory of the people”
• Nori – An Italian short form of Onorio, meaning “honor”
• Notte – A diminutive form of Bonanotte, meaning “good night” or “night”

Italian Last Names That Start with O

• Oliva – Best for girls, from Latin, meaning “olive tree”
• Orso – From the Latin, Ursus, meaning “bear,” referring to a habitational origin that contained the sign of the bear
• Oteri – An Italian surname, from German, comprised of elements meaning “old” and “army”

Italian Last Names That Start with P

• Pace – Perfect for boys and girls, meaning “peace”
• Palla – Probably best for girls, meaning “ball,” an occupational name for a maker of cannon balls
• Pavia – Another one that’s better for girls, Pavia means “from Pavia”

More Last Names That Start with P

• Pirani – A habitational name for someone “from Pirano”
• Po – Another habitational name for some “from Po,” a river and valley in Northern Italy
• Poma – Likely a habitational name as well, meaning “apple”

Italian Last Names That Start with R

• Raffa – Great for both boys and girls, Raffa is a habitational name for someone from Raffa of Puegnano del Garda in Brescia province
• Raia – A better fit for girls, Raia is a topographic name in some cases, referring to a “climbing shrub,” or it can be from Sicilian tradition and refer to “a fisherman”
• Ragno – An Italian name, meaning “spider” or from a Germanic surname, Ragino/Ragin

More Last Names That Start with R

• Reali – A patronymic form of Reale, a name meaning “royal,” used as an occupational name for those in service of a king
• Ricci – A patronymic form of Riccio, an Italian name, meaning “curly hair”
• Riolo – A diminutive form of Rio, meaning “river” or an alternative form of Oriolo, a place in Cosenza province

Italian Last Names That Start with S

• Sabella – Great for girls, from a tribal name that predates its Latin form, Sabellus
• Salvi – From the Italian name, Salvo (also a great option), coming from Latin, meaning “safe” or from a widespread Medieval name, Diotisalvi, meaning “God save you”
• Serino – A habitational name for a person from Serino in Avellino province

Italian Last Names That Start with T

• Talone – An Italian surname of German origin, meaning “bright valley”
• Tani – Pet forms of the Italian names Gaetanoor and Ottaviano
• Turi – A habitational name from Turi, located in Bari province

More Italian Last Names That Start with T

• Toso – An Italian name for boys, taken from Latin, meaning “clean-shaven”
• Trinca – Best for girls, from a southern dialect, meaning “to cut stone”
• Teti – A habitational name for those from Teti in Sardinia

Italian Last Names That Start with V

• Venezio – An Italian name, meaning “glorious,” can also go with the feminine form, Venezia
• Verna – A habitational name, that’s best for girls, for those from any of the many places called Verna, meaning “spring green”
• Vinci – Best for boys, but you get to decide, an Italian name from Latin, meaning “to conquer” or a habitational name for those from Vinci, Firenze

More Italian Last Names That Start with V

• Vita – A shortened form of the Medieval Italian name Bonavita or an Italian name, meaning “life,” best for girls
• Vitello – Best for boys, a name that was popular among early Christians in Southern Italy, also meaning “life”
• Viviano – All three of these V-names are related! Viviano comes from Latin, Vivianus, meaning “alive”

Italian Last Names That Start with Z

• Zadra – Best for girls, a name from Venetian dialect, meaning “theater”
• Zanca – In the Venetian dialect, the name means “lame,” but in Tuscany and Sardinia it means “leg,” another option that’s better for girls than boys
• Zinni – A patronymic form of Zinno, meaning “small” to speakers of Southern dialects

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More Italian Last Names That Start with Z

• Zella – Best for girls, an Italian name from names like Marcello and Marcello, relating to the Latin, Mars, meaning “warlike”
• Zucca – An occupational name for a grower or seller of gourds
• Zurlo – An Italian name, from Greek, meaning “unpredictable enthusiasm” or “mad enthusiasm”

There you go! What did you think of these Italian last names that will work well as first names? We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about how these Italian surnames came to be and discovered a variety of names that have been adopted from around Europe and made a home in Italy. These names hold so much romance and charm and it would be a blessing to your child to honor your Italian heritage with such an appellation. Congratulations! Happy baby name hunting!