Italian Dog Names
Updated Mon Sep 18 2023
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Italian dog names are fitting for a dog breed native to Italy, such as an Italian Greyhound, Neopolitan Mastiff, or Cane Corso amongst others. These names may also be appealing for a pup joining a family with Italian heritage.
Popular Italian dog names include Mia, Sienna, Lucia, and Gemma for female dogs, and Luca, Matteo, Dante, and Enzo for male dogs.
Many Italian dog names are long and romantic. Male Italian dog names that fit this category include Romeo, Luciano, Orlando, and Taddeo. Female Italian dog names include Allegra, Francesca, Verona, and Eloisa.
Other names are short and sweet, such as Elio, Pepe, Rocco, and Urso for male dogs, and Rosa, Fia, Lilla, and Marta for female dogs.
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- Aurora
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"dawn"Description:
The goddess name Aurora has consistently been on the US popularity list since the nineteenth century, but has really taken off in the past 30 years. Aurora also enjoys remarkable international popularity, ranking in the Top 100 throughout the English-speaking world as well as in Italy, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, and several other European and Latin American countries.
- Luna
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"moon"Description:
The name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna is derived straight from the Latin word for moon, luna. Luna may be the name most likely to surprise someone from an older generation by its Top 10 status in the US and its widespread international popularity.
- Beatrice
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"she who brings happiness; blessed"Description:
Beatrice is back. Stored in the attic for almost a century, the lovely Beatrice with its long literary (Shakespeare, Dante) and royal history is being looked at with fresh eyes by parents seeking a classic name with character and lots of upbeat nicknames, like Bea and Bee.
- Mia
Origin:
Italian word name or Scandinavian short form of MariaMeaning:
"mine or bitter"Description:
Mia is an appealingly unfussy multicultural name that has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the charts and is now firmly among the ten top girl names. Mia has surpassed its mother name Maria as the Number 1 girls' name starting with M.
- Elio
Origin:
Italian, SpanishMeaning:
"sun"Description:
Elio is a sunny and spirited Italian and Spanish name that makes a great crossover prospect, which could catch on as Enzo has. Elio is also currently popular in France, ranking in the Top 250.
- Mateo
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"gift of God"Description:
Mateo vaulted into the boys' Top 10 in 2023, ranking all the way up at Number 6. It is a Latinate names that, like Mia and Luca, is becoming popular far beyond its native Spanish community.
- Isabella
Origin:
Spanish and Italian variation of Elizabeth, HebrewMeaning:
"pledged to God"Description:
Isabella has been a Top 10 name for girls in the US for two decades now. The Latinate form of Isabel, a variation of Elizabeth which originally derived from the Hebrew name Elisheba, Isabella reigned as Number 1 in 2009 and 2010.
- Luca
Origin:
Italian variation of Luke and LucasMeaning:
"man from Lucania"Description:
The related Lucas and Luke are both hugely popular boy names in the US and internationally, and now Luca has joined them on boys' popularity lists around the world.
- Elena
Origin:
Spanish, Italian, German, Greek variation of HelenMeaning:
"bright, shining light"Description:
Elena is at its most popular point ever in the US, thanks to its cross-cultural appeal and the overall popularity of El- names. It's more international than Ellen or Eleanor, but still accessible.
- Sienna
Origin:
Italian color nameMeaning:
"orange red"Description:
Sienna has been a Top 100 choice in England & Wales since 2005, the year after Sienna Miller's acting breakthrough in the hit movies Alfie and Layer Cake. In the US, it also got a big boost in the early noughties, before dropping slightly then rebounding to reach an all-time high in 2022.
- Enzo
Origin:
Italian variation of Henry, also diminutive of Vincenzo and LorenzoDescription:
You may be surprised to know that Enzo is now a Top 100 boy name in the US and the UK, where it has been climbing straight uphill since the turn of this century.
- Aria
Origin:
Italian and HebrewMeaning:
"air; song or melody; lion"Description:
Aria is a multi-cultural name with two extremely popular versions: this more word-like one along with Arya, the spelling used for the feisty young heroine of Game of Thrones. There were about 6400 baby girls named Aria in the US last year alog with 2400 named Arya, which counted together places the name in the Top 10.
- Amara
Origin:
Igbo, Sanskrit, ArabicMeaning:
"grace, immortal, tribe"Description:
Strong, attractive, and stylish, Amara is a true multicultural choice enjoying some popularity in both the US and the UK. In the US Top 1000 since the turn of this century, Amara has been holding steady in the rankings between overly popular and obscure.
- Fia
Origin:
Irish, Portuguese, ItalianMeaning:
"wild, weaver"Description:
Fia may be most notable at this moment as the Anglicized version of the Irish Fiadh, one of the fastest-rising names in the Republic of Ireland. The meaning of Fia or Fiadh is sometimes given as "deer" but that's in the sense of a wild deer, as the name relates to the ancient word for wild.
- Emilia
Origin:
Feminine variation of Emil, LatinMeaning:
"rival"Description:
Emilia is the feminine form of the Roman clan name Aemilius, which derived from the Latin aemulus, meaning "rival." In Shakespeare’s Othello, Emilia is the wife of Iago and confidante of Desdemona. Amelia, although homonymous, has a different root and meaning.
- Lucia
Origin:
Italian, feminine variation of Lucius, LatinMeaning:
"light"Description:
Lucia is a lush, rich Latinate equivalent of Lucy, popular in Spain and throughout Latin America and also a cross-cultural favorite. You might be surprised to know that Lucia has ALWAYS ranked among the Top 1000 girl names in the US, though she's really taken off only since the turn of this century.
- Dante
Origin:
Latin diminutive of DurantMeaning:
"enduring"Description:
Though closely associated with the great medieval Florentine poet Dante Alighieri -- who's so famous most people skip the last name -- it's not as much of a one-man name as you might think. Heck, it's not even a one-poet name, thanks to British pre-Rapahaelite Dante Gabriel Rosetti. Though especially well used in the Italian-American community, it would make a striking name for any little boy.
- Gemma
Origin:
Italian, Catalonian, SpanishMeaning:
"precious stone"Description:
Gemma is a jewel of a name, an Italian classic that was very popular in 1980s England, but has only recently been started to be used here; it entered the list in 2008.
- Francesca
Origin:
Italian variation of FrancesMeaning:
"from France or free man"Description:
Francesca is a lighter and much more feminine choice than the classic Frances, and one that is increasingly popular with upscale parents.
- Bianca
Origin:
ItalianMeaning:
"white"Description:
Bianca, the livelier Italian and Shakespearean version of Blanche, has been chosen by many American parents since the 1990s, just as Blanca is a favorite in the Spanish-speaking community. Its meaning of white relates to snow, making it one of the prime names for winter babies.