Italian names in America have two distinct phases: the early 20th-century immigration era that brought Mario, Salvatore, and Carmela into American life, and the current Italian-aesthetic wave that has pushed Luca, Mateo, Enzo, and Valentina to the top of the chart.
The two waves look completely different. Here's the data.
The current Italian-aesthetic wave
The names dominating American baby naming right now include a striking cluster of Italian and Spanish-Italian names that weren't mainstream a generation ago.
Mateo — #7 (11,302 babies)
Mateo — Italian and Spanish form of Matthew (Hebrew Mattityahu: "gift of God"). Mateo was #428 in 2000 and is now #7 — the second-largest jump of any boys' name over this period. It's simultaneously the Italian Matteo and the Spanish Mateo; the two traditions have merged in American use. See Spanish names.
Luca — #23 (7,959 babies)
Luca — Italian form of Lucas/Luke (from Latin lux, light). Luca was #626 in 2000 and is now #23. The Pixar film Luca (2021, set in the Italian Riviera) gave the name additional visibility at a moment when it was already climbing. The short, crisp Italian sound works well in English without any pronunciation difficulty.
Enzo — #74 (4,548 babies)
Enzo — Italian short form of Lorenzo or Vincenzo. Enzo went from #1,209 in 2000 to #74 in 2024. Enzo Ferrari (founder of Ferrari) is the most famous historical bearer; the Italian racing and luxury-car association gives the name an aspirational quality in American culture.
Leonardo — #84 (3,951 babies)
Leonardo — Italian, from Old High German Leonhard (lion + hardy/brave). Leonardo was #253 in 2000 and has climbed to #84. Leonardo da Vinci is the paramount cultural reference; Leonardo DiCaprio has also maintained the name's visibility throughout a generation of American parents.
Lorenzo — #116 (3,044 babies)
Lorenzo — Italian form of Laurence/Lawrence. Lorenzo went from #314 in 2000 to #116 in 2024. The four-syllable Italian name fits the current preference for elaborate names. See long and elaborate names.
Emiliano — #113 (3,125 babies)
Emiliano — Italian/Spanish form of Emilian (from Latin Aemilius). Emiliano was #634 in 2000 and is now #113. Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary, is the most famous historical bearer; the name is widely used in Latin American communities and has crossed into broader American naming.
Giovanni — #122 (2,951 babies)
Giovanni — Italian form of John (Hebrew Yochanan). Giovanni has been in the US top 200 for several decades, rising from #201 (2000) to #122 (2024). It's one of the classic Italian immigrant names that has maintained continuous use. See names meaning grace for the John family etymology.
The Italian girls' names
Gianna — #23 (6,097 babies)
Gianna — Italian diminutive of Giovanna (the feminine of Giovanni, itself the Italian form of John). Gianna was #240 in 2000 and has jumped to #23 in 2024. Gianna Bryant — Kobe Bryant's daughter, who died in the same 2020 helicopter crash as her father — became widely mourned in the months following the accident. The name's rise from 2020 onward may partly reflect tribute naming. See sports names.
Gianna has the four-syllable Italian ending (-a) that's driving the current elaboration trend in girls' naming. See long and elaborate names.
Valentina — #47 (4,438 babies)
Valentina — Italian/Spanish feminine of Valentine. Valentina has climbed from #713 in 2000 to #47 in 2024. It's the most elaborate Italian girls' name in current mainstream use — four syllables, the -ina feminine suffix, and the Valentine root that connects to valere (strength, health). See names meaning strength.
Sofia — #10 (8,094 babies)
Sofia — Italian (and Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan) spelling of Sophia (Greek: wisdom). Sofia is the Italian form; Sophia is the Greek/English form. Together they make "Sofia or Sophia" the #6/#10 combined names in 2024 — a combined 14,000+ babies.
Sofia's Italian-specific spelling has the Hispanic and Italian community backing that Sophia (the more Anglicized form) doesn't.
Lucia — #98 (2,658 babies)
Lucia — Italian/Spanish/Portuguese feminine of Lucius (Latin lux, light). Lucia has climbed from #490 in 2000 to #98 in 2024. Saint Lucia (Lucia of Syracuse, martyred 304 AD) is the patron saint of the blind and the subject of the Scandinavian Luciadagen festival. See names meaning light.
Antonella — #233 (1,329 babies)
Antonella — Italian feminine diminutive of Antonio. Essentially unused in 2000 (#3,893 with 32 babies) and now at #233 with 1,329. Antonella is the most purely Italian name in current American data — there's no English equivalent that parents could confuse it with.
Alessia — #281 (1,121 babies)
Alessia — Italian feminine of Alessio (the Italian form of Alexis). Canadian-Italian pop singer Alessia Cara (born 1996) brought the name visibility; it has climbed from #1,828 in 2000 to #281 in 2024.
The old immigration wave
The Italian-American immigration of 1880–1920 brought a different set of names into American life — names that are now considered classic Italian-American but are no longer fashionable:
Mario — #398 (808 babies). The name of Italy's patron saint (Saint Mario, though the connection is informal) and of the Nintendo video game character. Mario peaked in Italian-American communities through the mid-20th century; Nintendo's Super Mario (1985) gave it a completely different cultural association. Now at #398 and holding.
Salvatore — #902 (260 babies). "Savior" in Italian, from Latin salvator. One of the most common Italian immigrant names from the early 20th century; now rare at #902.
Rocco — #500 (609 babies). Italian, from Germanic hrōk (rest, peace). Saint Rocco (Roch) is the patron saint of plague victims. Rocco was popular in Italian-American families in the early-mid 20th century; now beginning to revive as a "vintage" Italian name.
Carmela — #1,155 (208 babies). Italian feminine of Carmel (from Hebrew karmel, garden). The name of The Sopranos matriarch Carmela Soprano, which may have given it a specific cultural association for the generation that watched the show.
Dante — #322 (1,067 babies). Italian, from Latin durante (enduring). Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy (~1320), the foundational text of Italian literature. Dante is unusual in that it bridges both the old and new Italian waves — it was used in Italian-American communities and is now reviving as a literary/cultural name.
Why Italian sounds are winning
The current Italian-aesthetic wave is driven by specific phonetic preferences that happen to match what Italian provides:
The -a ending for boys. Italian boys' names ending in -a (Luca, Mattia, Andrea, Elia) are unusual in English — most English boys' names end in consonants. But these names fit the Italian pattern where -a is a masculine ending in many contexts. See names ending in -a.
The -o ending. Enzo, Marco, Gianni, Angelo, Lorenzo — the Italian masculine -o ending gives names a distinctive, European sound that distinguishes them from Anglo-American names without being difficult to pronounce.
The -ina/-ella diminutives. Valentina, Antonella, Alessia — Italian diminutive suffixes that create longer, more elaborate names at a time when parents are choosing elaborate names. See long and elaborate names.
The Roman/Renaissance prestige. Names like Leonardo, Lorenzo, Giovanni, Dante carry the weight of Italian Renaissance culture. For parents seeking names with historical and cultural depth, Italian provides a specific prestige track.
Italian vs. Spanish
Many of the "Italian" names in current American data are shared with Spanish — Mateo, Sofia, Lucia, Lorenzo, Emiliano, Valentina are all standard in both Italian and Spanish naming. The two traditions have partially merged in American use, where parents of various backgrounds choose these names for their Mediterranean sound and elegance.
See Spanish names for the specific Spanish contributions.
Explore: Luca · Mateo · Enzo · Gianna · Valentina · Leonardo · Giovanni
Data: SSA 2000 and 2024 US releases.