What are the "usual suspects" that get chosen over and over again, when we are talking about baby names?
What are the most trendy names of the last ten years for that arena, in your own language, culture, country or niche of reference?
And what about the unusual ones, instead?
About ten years ago I started collecting 'old fashioned' and/or very unusual Italian first names.
What are the most trendy names of the last ten years for that arena, in your own language, culture, country or niche of reference?
And what about the unusual ones, instead?
About ten years ago I started collecting 'old fashioned' and/or very unusual Italian first names.
While having a very unusual name myself and being sure that living with such a name had a huge impact on my whole life and how my personality got shaped over the years, I have always found it fascinating hearing a wonderful, unusual and very often 'special' name while meeting a new person for the first time.
[Nice, to e-meet you! My name is Azzurra,
way more than it would be the case while hearing a name that is well known and yet not traditional at all for Italian standards, like 'Deborah' (why not just Debora?!) or 'Samantha' or 'Jessica', popular choices in Italy in the past twenty years even if they sound so weird, if paired with an Italian surname like 'Rossi', 'Esposito' or 'Sanna'.
Here can you find 80 examples of unusual, poetic, old-fashioned and rare Italian first names for women:
1. Adalgisa
2. Adelina
3. Adelma
4. Albina
5. Aldina
6. Alfonsina
7. Allegra
8. Amalia
9. Angiola
10. Anita
11. Antonina
12. Argia
13. Carmelitana
14. Celeste
[Italian operatic soprano
Celestina Boninsegna (1877-1947)
was a so called "Junoesque beauty"]
was a so called "Junoesque beauty"]
16. Cosima
17. Costantina
18. Danila
19. Delfina
20. Domenica
21. Edda
22. Egedia
23. Elda
24. Elena Stella
25. Emilia Giustina
26. Ernesta Maria
27. Ernestina
28. Esterina
29. Eugenia
30. Faustina
31. Felicina
32. Fidelia
33. Gerarda
34. Giacoma
35. Giuditta
[Judith and the Head of Holofernes, 1901
by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).
"Giuditta" is the Italian version of the name]
36. Giuseppina
37. Ilva
38. Immacolata
39. Ipazia
40. Irene Rita
41. Irma
42. Luigia
43. Luna
44. Maggiorina
45. Maria Catena
46. Maria Luigia
47. Mariaelisa
48. Marita
49. Maritza
50. Mariuccia
51. Mattea
52. Maura
53. Michelina
54. Minù
55. Ondina
["Ondina" means "small wave" and it is the name of
fairies, nymphs and other magical creatures...
It is not very common in Italian, and yet truly poetic]
56. Onorina
57. Orfea
58. Ortensia
59. Pace
60. Palmina
61. Paolina
62. Pasqualina
63. Pierangela
64. Ripalta
65. Rosa Pia
66. Salvatrice
67. Santina
68. Sarina
69. Secondina
70. Serafina
[Long time before being the main character of a book series,
Serafina was a female name referring to... angels.
Seraphim angels are angels belonging to the
highest order of Christian angelic hierarchy...]
71. Serenella
72. Severina
73. Vanda
74. Vania
75. Venicia
76. Verdiana
77. Verena
78. Vilma
79. Vincenza
80. Zaira
Have you ever met someone with such a name?!
If you can answer yes, you are lucky.
While living with such a name, it is very likely that your friends and acquaintances have a strong and interesting personality, because as a child they had to deal with being bullied, being mobbed, being on the spotlight no matter what, or...
Or probably, they had to reply every day to questions like "Really? This is your real name?" or to be able to strike back, when someone said something stupid or insensitive about their name.
It could even be that you have been one of those people busy asking silly questions, in another life.
While living with such a name, it is very likely that your friends and acquaintances have a strong and interesting personality, because as a child they had to deal with being bullied, being mobbed, being on the spotlight no matter what, or...
Or probably, they had to reply every day to questions like "Really? This is your real name?" or to be able to strike back, when someone said something stupid or insensitive about their name.
It could even be that you have been one of those people busy asking silly questions, in another life.
So now, in this new chapter of your life, it is your chance to be nice to people with unusual names and to show them that a person can be empathic, curious and nice without being obnoxious. They are going to love you for that.
Tags: Exotic names, Unusual names, Italian female names, Old-fashioned names, Self-awareness, Emotional intelligence, Growing up with an unusual name
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