Category Archives: Italian Names

Joel

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Biblical Hebrew יוֹאֵל 
Meaning: “Yahweh is God.”
Eng (JOLE); Fre (zhoh-EL); Germ (YOH-el)

The name is derived from the Hebrew male name, Yo’el  (יוֹאֵל), meaning, “Yahweh is God.” The name is borne in the Old Testament by a minor prophet.

Currently, Joel is the 14th most popular male name in German-speaking, Switzerland, (2010). And his rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 20 (Catalonia, 2010)
  • # 33 (Finland, 2010)
  • # 39 (Gioele, Italian-speaking, Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 46 (Germany, 2011)
  • # 50 (Northern Ireland, 2010)
  • # 58 (Spain, 2010)
  • # 59 (Sweden, 2010)
  • # 79 (New Zealand, 2010)
  • # 81 (England/Wales, 2010)
  • # 99 (Australia, 2010)
  • # 132 (United States, 2010)
  • # 152 (Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 161 (Scotland, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Joel (Catalan/English/Finnish/Polish/Portuguese/Romansch/Scandinavian/Spanish)
  • Joël (Dutch/German/French)
  • Yo’el יוֹאֵל (Hebrew)
  • Gioele (Italian)
A French feminine form is Joëlle.

Loris

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Italian
It (LOH-rees); Fre (LOH-HREES)

The name was originally an Italian diminutive form of Lorenzo, now widely used as an independent given name, especially in German and French-speaking countries.

As of 2010, it was the 42nd most popular male name in German-speaking, Switzerland, (2010). His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 30 (French-speaking Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 41 (Italian-speaking, Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 100 (France, 2009)
  • # 445 (Germany, 2011)

The name may have been popularized in the German-speaking world via Austrian Poet and Dramatist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1929), he often used Loris as a pen-name.

In the French-speaking world, it may have been introduced via the Italian-French fashion designer, Loris Azzaro (1933-2003).

Coincidentally, it is also the name of a genus strepsirrhine primates, and thus, may also be used as a sort of nature name.

Noah

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Biblical Hebrew נוֹחַ 
Meaning: “rest; comfort.”
Eng (NOH-ah)

The name is derived from the Hebrew male name נוֹחַ (Noach) which can either be from the Hebrew (nāḥam) meaning “comfort” or (nûaḥ) meaning, “rest.”

It borne in the Old Testament (Genesis) by the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family and the animal species to survive the Great Flood. The same story also appears in the Qu’ran. In Islam, Nuh (Noah) is revered as a prophet.

The story of Noah’s Ark was extremely popular in Medieval Europe and he was even revered as a saint by the Catholic Church, but Noah itself never caught on as a given name until after the Protestant Reformation, when it became extremely popular among the Puritans. It fell out of usage between the 19th-century up until recently, where it is now one of the most popular male names in the Western World.

Its recent boom in popularity is a mystery. It is currently the most popular male name in German-speaking Switzerland (2010) and Belgium (2009), and his rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 2 (Nojus, Lithuanian, 2010)
  • # 3 (Denmark, 2011)
  • # 3 (French-speaking Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 5 (Nóa Faroe Islands, 2010)
  • # 7 (United States, 2010)
  • # 8 (Australia, 2010)
  • # 9 (Canada, B.C., 2010)
  • # 11 (Germany, 2011)
  • # 11 (Northern Ireland, 2010)
  • # 11 (Norway, 2010)
  • # 12 (New Zealand, 2010)
  • # 14 (France, 2009)
  • # 18 (England/Wales, 2010)
  • # 21 (Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 23 (Italian-speaking Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 25 (Sweden, 2010)
  • # 26 (Ireland, 2010)
  • # 27 (Austria, 2010)
  • # 32 (Noé, French-speaking Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 32 (Noé France, 2009)
  • # 41 (Scotland, 2010)
  • # 99 (Noé, Belgium, 2009)
  • # 534 (Noé, United States, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Noah (Albanian/Czech/Dutch/English/French/German/Italian/Scandinavian)
  • Nuh  نوح (Arabic/Azeri/Bosnian/Chechen/Chuvash/Coptic/Ethiopian/Indonesian/Javanese/Kazakh/ Kyrgyz/Tatar/Turkmen/Turkish/Uzbek)
  • Noy Նոյ (Armenian)
  • Noj Ной (Belarusian/Bulgarian/Russian/Ukrainian)
  • Noe ნოე Ное (Bosnian/Czech/Georgian/Macedonian/Polish/Romanian/RomanschSerbian/Slovak/Slovene)
  • Noè (Catalan/Italian)
  • Noa (Croatian/Estonian)
  • Noach (Dutch)
  • Nóa (Faroese)
  • Nooa (Finnish)
  • Noé Νωέ (French/Galician/Greek/Hungarian/Portuguese/Romansch/Spanish)
  • Noach נוֹחַ (Hebrew)
  • Nói (Icelandic)
  • Nûh (Kurdish)
  • Noë (Latin)
  • Noahas (Lithuanian)
  • Nojus (Lithuanian)
  • Noje Ноје (Serbian)
  • Nuux (Somali)
  • Noak (Swedish)
The name Noah also appears in the Book of Mormon as the name of an evil Nephite king who burned the prophet Abinadi at the stake.
An obscure French feminine form is Noée.

Viola

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: English/Italian/Latin/Scandinavian
Meaning: “violet.”
Eng (VIE-ə-lə; vee-OH-luh); It (VYOLE-lah)

The name is derived from the Latin word for violet and has been used throughout Europe since Medieval times. In the English-speaking world, it was introduced via the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night (1602). It was extremely popular in both Britain and the United States during the turn of the 20th-century, coming in as the 42nd most popular female name in 1908, (United States).

Currently, Viola is the 31st most popular name in Italian-speaking, Switzerland, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

  • Viola (Czech/English/Finnish/German/Hungarian/Italian/Latin/Portuguese/Russian/Scandinavian/Spanish)
  • Viole (French)
  • Wiola (Polish)

Ambra

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Italian
Meaning: “amber.”
(AHM-brah)

The name comes directly from the Italian word for amber and has been used as a given name since Medieval times. It went out of usage after the 16th-century and was revived in the 20th-century.

It is currently the 32nd most popular female name in Italian-speaking, Switzerland, (2010).

Greta

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Scandinavian

The name is derived from a Scandinavian short form of Margaret and has been used as an independent given name since at least the 19th-century.

It is also the name of a river in England and in the English-speaking world, especially within Britain, the name may have been bestowed in reference to the river.

It is also the name of a genus of butterfly.

It was introduced to the English-speaking world, (specifically the United States) via Scandinavian immigrants of the 19th-century. It was further popularized in the 1930s by Swedish actress, Greta Garbo. In fact, the highest Greta ever ranked in the U.S. was in 1932 coming in as the 318th most popular female name. As of 2010, it was the 666th most popular female name in the United States, (2010)

It is the 12th most popular female name in Italian-speaking Switzerland, (2010) and her rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 22 (Hungary, 2010)
  • # 24 (Italy, 2010)
  • # 39 (Germany, 2011)
  • # 88 (Sweden, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Grete (Danish/German/Norwegian)
  • Grethe (Danish)
  • Greet (Dutch/Luxembourgish)
  • Greetje (Dutch)
  • Griet (Dutch)
  • Greta (English/Estonian/Faroese/Finnish/German/Icelandic/Italian/Polish/Romansch/Scandinavian)
  • Gretta (English/Romansch)
  • Gretchen (German)
  • Gretel (German)
  • Gréta (Hungarian)
  • Gryte (Lithuanian)
  • Greata (Romansch)
  • Grettina (Romansch)

The name is also borne by famed lawyer and TV host, Greta van Susteran (b.1954)

Ginevra

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Italian
Meaning: debated
(jee-NAVE-rah)

The name has often been used as an Italian cognate for the Celtic, Guinevere, but it has also long been believed to be related to the Italian word ginepro (juniper). In the latter case, the city of Geneva, Switzerland, would share the same etymology.

Ginevra was a popular female name in Medieval Italy.

Currently, Ginevra is the 37th most popular female name in Italian-speaking Switzerland, (2010).

In the English-speaking world, the name was recently brought to attention via the J.K. Rowling books, Harry Potter, in which it is the name of Ron Weasley’s sister, Ginny.

Other forms include:

  • Ginewra (Polish)
  • Żinewra (Polish)
  • Genebra (Portuguese/Spanish)

Naomi

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Biblical Hebrew  נָעֳמִי
Meaning: “pleasantness.”
Eng (nay-OH-mee); (nye-OH-mee)

The name is derived from the Hebrew נָעֳמִי (Na’omiy) “pleasantness.”

It is borne in the Old Testament by the mother-in-law of Ruth, who later changes her name to Mara to express the grief she experienced after losing her husband and sons.

The name was always common among Jews but did not catch on in the English-Christian world until after the Protestant Reformation.

Currently, its Italian/German form of Noemi is the 3rd most popular female name in Italian-speaking Switzerland, (2010). Her rankings in both forms are as follows:

  • # 16 (Noemi, Hungary, 2010)
  • # 19 (Noemi, Italy, 2010)
  • # 26 (Naomi, Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 31 (Noémie, French-speaking Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 33 (Noémie, France, 2009)
  • # 44 (Naomi, Canada, B.C., 2010)
  • # 63 (Noémie, Belgium, 2009)
  • # 82 (Naomi, Scotland, 2010)
  • # 86 (Naomi, Northern Ireland, 2010)
  • # 92 (Naomi, United States, 2010)
  • # 162 (Noemi, Germany, 2011)
  • # 677 (Noemi, United States, 2010)
Other forms of the name include:
  • Na’ima (Aramaic)
  • Naomi (Dutch/English/Hebrew)
  • Noemi (Czech/German/Hungarian/Italian/Polish/Slovak)
  • Noomi (Finnish/Estonian)
  • Noémie (French)
  • Naemi (German)
  • Naëmi (German)
  • Nomi (German)
  • Noemí (Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Noemin Ноеминь (Russian)
  • Naimi (Swedish)
  • Noëmi (Swiss-German)
  • Nömsi (Swiss-German)

It can also be a Japanese female name, being composed of the elements 直 (nao) “straight” and 美 (mi) “beautiful.”

Its recent popularity in Italy might be due to Italian pop singer, Noemi.

The name is also borne by supermodel, Naomi Campbell.

Elisa

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Italian

The name could either be a contracted Italian form of Elisabetta or it may be a feminine form of Eliseo, the Italian form of Elisha.

Its French form of Élise was introduced via the sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, Elisa Bonaparte (1777-1820).

Currently, Elisa is the 7th most popular female name in Italian-speaking Switzerland, (2010) and the 12th most popular in Italy, (2010). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 34 (Belgium, 2009)
  • # 47 (France, 2009)
  • # 56 (Austria, 2010)
  • # 115 (Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 496 (United States, 2010)

Nicole

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: French

The name is a French feminine form of Nicolas.

The name became extremely popular in the United States during the 1980s, in 1981 it came in as the 6th most popular female name. As of 2010, she was the 122nd most popular female name in the United States, (2010).

Currently, she is the 10th most popular female name in Italian-speaking, Switzerland, (2010). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 30 (Italy, 2010)
  • # 40 (Ireland, 2010)
  • # 63 (Northern Ireland, 2010)
  • # 63 (Scotland, 2010)
  • # 83 (Canada, B.C., 2010)
  • # 93 (Catalonia, 2010)
  • # 93 (Sweden, 2010)
  • # 196 (Germany, 2011)
  • # 323 (Netherlands, 2010)