While Italian breeds aren’t the most popular dogs in America, there are still a few that are decently well known, such as the St. Bernard. If you’ve recently adopted one of these canines, you might want to consider choosing an Italian name for them.
There are countless Italian dog names out there, so we gathered them all into this ultimate list, providing you with hundreds of naming options for your canine.
Popular Dog Names in Italy
Surely people in Italy know how to give their canine an Italian name. Here are some of the most common names in Italy. Not all of these are Italian – just like we pull dog names from other cultures, so do those in Italy. Many dog names in Italy are actually English, but with Italian pronunciation. Here were some of the more popular, Italian dog name, however:
- Lupo: Italian for “wolf”
- Lessie: taken from the English name “Lassie.”
- Whisky: this name is pronounced slightly different than you’d expect. It’s more like a “w-ee-s-key,” sounding almost like “wet ski.”
- Versace: fashion name
- Valentino: fashion name
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Italian Male Dog Names
Now that we’ve looked at some of the more popular dog names in Italy, let’s look at some actual Italian names. Most Italian male names end in -o, while most female names end in -a. We’ve included the meaning beside each name as well, so you can pick one that is absolutely perfect for your canine.
- Abele: “breath”
- Abramo: “father of a multitude”
- Achille: “he who embodies the grief of the people”
- Adalberto: “bright nobility”
- Agostino: “venerable”
- Dante: “steadfast”
- Dario: “wealthy”
- Davide: “beloved”
- Demetrio: “loves the earth”
- Desi: “longing”
- Dino: “little old sword”
- Drago: “dragon”
- Duilio: “war”
- Edmondo: “protector of prosperity”
- Egidio: “kid”
- Elario: “joyful”
- Elmo: “helmet”
- Elpidio: “hope”
- Emiliano: “rival”
- Ennio: “favorite of God”
- Enzio: “home-ruler”
- Ercole: “glory of Hera”
- Ermete: “of the earth”
- Estachio: “fruitful”
- Ettore: “defend”
- Eugenio: “well-born”
- Eustachio: “fruitful”
- Ezio: “home-ruler”
- Ezzelin: “little noble one”
- Fabio: “bean”
- Fabrizio: “craftsman”
- Fedele: “faithful”
- Felice: “happy”
- Ferro: “iron”
- Filberto: “very bright”
- Fino: “burning one” and “serpent”
- Fiore: “flower”
- Fiorenzo: “blossoming”
- Firmino: “steadfast”
- Flavio: “yellow hair”
- Fons: “noble and ready”
- Fulvio: “yellow”
- Gaspare: “treasure bearer”
- Gennaro: “January”
- Gerolamo: “holy name”
- Gervasio: “spear servant”
- Giacinto: “hyacinth flower”
- Giampaolo: “small”
- Giorgio: “farmer”
- Giraldo: “spear ruler”
- Gregario: “watchful”
- Gustavo: “meditation staff”
- Leopoldo: “people-bold”
- Liborio: “free
- Lothario: “loud warrior”
- Luciano: “light”
- Nero: “wise warrior”
- Nestore: “homecoming”
- Nevio: “spotted”
- Ovidio: “sheepherder”
- Palmiro: “palm tree”
- Pancrazio: “all power”
- Paolo: “small”
- Peride: “wager”
- Piero: “stone”
- Pino: “pine tree” and “curly”
- Poldi: “people-bold”
- Ponzio: “of the sea”
- Porfirio: “purple”
- Primo: “first”
- Prospero: “success”
- Raul: “wise wolf”
- Remigio: “oarsman”
- Remo: “swift”
- Renato: “reborn”
- Rico: “home-ruler”
- Rinaldo: “wide ruler”
- Roberto: “bright fame”
- Rocco: “rest”
- Rufino: “red-haired”
- Ruggero: “famous spear”
- Sandro: “defender of mankind”
- Savio: “clever”
- Serafino: “burning one” or “serpent”
- Sergio: “sergeant”
- Severiano: “stern”
- Severo: “stern”
- Silvano: “from the forest”
- Stefano: “crown”
- Tacito: “silent”
- Taddeo: “courageous”
- Tammaro: “things of being famous”
- Teodosio: “gift-giving
- Thorello: “young bull”
- Tino: “small”
- Tiziano: “of the Titans”, who were giants in Greek mythology.
- Uberto: “bright heart”
- Ugo: “heart”, “mind”, and “spirit”
- Ulisse: “to be angry”
- Umfredo: “giant peace”
- Valentino: “healthy” and “strong”
- Vicenzo: “conquering”
- Vinicio: “vine”
- Vito: “life”
- Xaviero: “a new house”
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Italian Female Dog Names
Italian dog names are beautiful and sweet, making them the perfect choice for your new cuddly canine. There are countless options for your female canine out there, but here are some of our favorites:
- Abelie: “honeysuckle”
- Adalina: “little noble”
- Annetta: “grace”
- Arabella: “answered prayers”
- Brunhilda: “warrior woman”
- Calandra: “skylark”
- Calogera: “beautiful elder”
- Celia: “heaven”
- Chiara: “bright”
- Coco: “cook.” It is also used as a nickname for names long names that begin with “co-.”
- Colombina: “dove”
- Dafne: “laurel”
- Debora: “bee”
- Diamante: “diamond”
- Dorotea: “gift of God”
- Edda: “contending battle”
- Elda: “battle”
- Elena: “torch”
- Elma: “helmet”
- Eloisa: “hale-wide”
- Giustina: “fair”
- Grazia: “agreeable”
- Guiditta: “praised”
- Imelda: “all warrior”
- Italia: “calf”
- Jemma: “precious stone”
- Jolanda: “violet flower”
- Lalia: “well-spoken”
- Lauretta: “little laurel tree”
- Letizia: “happiness”
- Lia: “weary”
- Loredana: “laurel grove”
- Loreto: “laurel wood”
- Marcella: “defense”
- Margherita: “pearl”
- Maria: “rebelliousness”
- Marietta: “little rebel”
- Marta: “lady”
- Maura: “dark”
- Melania: “black”
- Milana: “grace”
- Mirella: “to admire”
- Natale: “birthday”
- Nereza: “darkness”
- Nerina: “water”
- Palmira: “pilgrim”
- Paola: “small”
- Perla: “pearl”
- Petronel: “little rock”
- Rachele: “ewe”
- Raimonda: “wise protector”
- Rosabella: “beautiful rose”
- Rosalva: “rose of dawn”
- Rosanna: “rose” and “grace” or “graceful rose”
- Rosella: “rose”
- Rosetta: “little rose”
- Sandra: “defender of mankind”
- Saveria: “new house”
- Selvaggia: “wild”
- Serafina: “burning one”
- Silvia: “from the forest”
- Sofia: “wisdom”
- Stefania: “crown”
- Sylvana: “from the forest”
- Tatiana: “father”
- Tecla: “glory of God”
- Valeria: “to be strong”
- Violetta: “violet”
- Vitalia: “of life”
- Zeta: “little girl”
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Cute Italian Dog Names
Looking for an extra-cute name for your Italian canine? This list of adorable names has all the options you need.
- Adalfieri: “noble oath”
- Adamo: “earth” and “red”
- Adolfo: “noble wolf”
- Adone: “lord”
- Affonso: “noble and ready”
- Agapeto: “beloved”
- Agata: “good”
- Alba: “dawn”
- Alberta: “bright nobility”
- Alda: “noble”
- Alessa: “defender of mankind”
- Alessia: “defender”
- Allegra: “cheerful and lively”
- Arturo: “bear-man”
- Aurelio: “golden”
- Baldovino: “brave friend”
- Basilio: “king”
- Benedetto: “blessed”
- Benigno: “kind”
- Emiliana: “rival”
- Erminia: “of the earth”
- Ernesta: “battle”
- Fabrzia: “craftsman”
- Feliza: “happy”
- Fiammentta: “fire”
- Fina: “dawn”
- Fiorella: “little flower”
- Luciana: “light”
- Lucrezia: “wealthy”
- Ludovica: “famous warrior”
- Mafalda: “mighty in battle”
- Malvolia: “ill-will”
- Nilda: “armored warrior woman”
- Noelia: “day of birth”
- Noemi: “my delight”
- Orabella: “golden beauty”
- Ornella: “flowering ash tree”
- Orsina: “bear”
- Orsola: “little bear”
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Funny Italian Dog Names
There are some Italian dog names out there that are quite funny. This list includes real Italian names that have some pretty funny meanings.
- Barbagelata: “frozen beard”
- Bellagamba: “beautiful leg”
- Calvina: “little bald one”
- Calvino: “little bald one”
- Denaro: “money”
- Finocchio: “fennel”
- Mazzasalma: “half-cadaver”
- Pelagatti: a real Italian surname meaning “ways to peel a cat”
- Porcius: “pig”
- Porsche: originally Roman. It probably means something along the line of “pig.”
- Portia: a moon of Uranus and a character in one of Shakespeare’s play. This name probably means “pig”.
- Squarcialupi: “likes to rip wolves” or “sing with wolves”
- Torregrossa: “big tower”
Italian Food Names For Dogs
Who doesn’t like Italian food? Take your love affair to the next level with these food-inspired dog names:
- Agnolotti
- Amore
- Arancini
- Asiago
- Bari
- Biscotto
- Boreto
- Braciole
- Bresaola
- Bruschetta
- Calzone
- Cannoli
- Capocollo
- Caprese
- Caramello
- Carbonara
- Chitarra
- Ciabatta
- Ciriola
- Crostini
- Culatello
- Ditalini
- Dolce
- Espresso
- Farinata
- Focaccia
- Fonduta
- Fontina
- Gnocchi
- Lasgna
- Macaroni
- Maccu
- Margherita
- Marinara
- Meatball
- Minestrone
- Noodle
- Olive
- Oro
- Orzo
- Penia
- Penne
- Peperoni
- Pesto
- Piadina
- Piccolo
- Pisa
- Pisello
- Pita
- Prosciutto
- Ragù
- Ravioli
- Rigatoni
- Scampi
- Spaghetti
- Taralli
- Uffizi
- Venice
- Vermicelli
- Vespa
- Vitello
- Ziti
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Sicilian Dog Names
If you’re looking for names from Sicily specifically, this section was made for you.
- Alberico: “elf ruler”
- Alberto: “bright nobility”
- Aldo: “little old sword”
- Alessandro: “defender of mankind”
- Alessio: “defender”
- Alfeo: “elf counsel”
- Alfieri: “knight”
- Alfonso: “noble and ready”
- Alvise: “famous warrior”
- Amadeo: “to love God”
- Amadore: “love”
- Amato: “beloved”
- Ambrogio: “immorta”
- Amerigo: “work” and “power”
- Ampelio: “wine”
- Anacleto: “called back”
- Anastasio: “resurrection”
- Anatolio: “east” and “sunrise”
- Andrea: “warrior”
- Angelico: “angelic”
- Angelo: “angel”
- Anselmo: “divine helmet”
- Antonello: “invaluable”
- Arcangelo: “archangel”
- Arduino: “hardy friend”
- Armo: “crew”
- Arnoldo: “eagle power”
- Aroldo: “army leader”
- Arrigo: “army ruler”
- Azzurra: “sky blue”
- Benedetta: “blessed”
- Benigna: “kind”
- Berengar: “bear-spear”
- Bernardino: “bold as a bear”
- Bertoldo: “bright ruler”
- Bertrando: “bright raven”
- Bettino: “blessed”
- Bianca: “white”
- Bibiana: “alive”
- Bice: “voyager”
- Bonfilia: “good daughter”
- Bonifacio: “good destiny”
- Brizio: “craftsman”
- Callisto: “most beautiful”
- Celestino: “heavenly”
- Celso: “upright”
- Cesare: “severed”
- Ciro: “like the sun”
- Colombo: “dove”
- Cosimo: “order”
- Crescenzo: “to grow”
- Damiano: “to tame”
- Malchiorre: “king of light”
- Malvolio: “ill-will”
- Manfredo: “strong peace”
- Manlio: “morning”
- Marcello: “of the sea”
- Marco: “defense”
- Maso: “twin”
- Michelangelo: “angel”
- Modesto: “sober”
- Mose: “drawn out”
- Nerio: “wet one”
Cool Italian Dog Names
While most Italian names wouldn’t necassarily be considered “cool”, here are some names with badass meanings that are perfect for any canine.
- Adona: “my lord”
- Andreina: “warrior”
- Angiola: “angel” and “messenger”
- Fiorenza: “blossoming”
- Fulvia: “yellow”
- Geltrude: “spear strength”
- Gemma: “precious stone”
- Giacinta: “hyacinth flower”
- Giada: “jade”
- Gina: “famous warrior”
- Giorgia: “earth-worker” or “farmer”
- Hieronomo: “holy”
- Leandro: “lion-man”
- Leonardo: “lion-strong”
- Leone: “lion”
- Nico: “victor of the people”
- Orfeo: “darkness”
- Orso: “bear”
- Ravenna: “raven”
- Renata: “reborn”
- Roberta: “bright fame”
- Romhilda: “famous battle”
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What Name Did You Pick?
Now that you’ve made it to the bottom of our ultimate list, what name did you decide to call your new dog? If you still haven’t decided, no worries! Give yourself plenty of time to decide on a name. After all, a name is for life! (No pressure.)
We recommend choosing a name that you can pronounce easily. You might want to enlist the services of an online translator that can help with pronunciations, like Google Translate, to make sure you’re pronouncing whatever name you choose correctly.
Also, be sure you feel comfortable calling your dog their new name in public. Some funnier names seem like a great idea in private, but can be somewhat embarrassing to call out in the middle of the dog park.
However, the most important factor when you’re choosing a name is whether or not you like it. Let your instincts guide you and pick a name that is perfect for you and your dog.
