I came across this piece on yahoo
http://it.notizie.yahoo.com/popolazione-istat-francesco-e-giulia-nomi-preferiti-da-142100752.html with the most recent stat for Italian names.
Here are the 30 most popular names for each gender for 2009
BOYS:
FrancescoAlessandroMatteoAndreaLorenzoGabrieleMattiaRiccardoDavideLucaLeonardoMarcoFedericoGiuseppeSimoneTommasoAntonioGiovanniAlessioFilippoChristianPietroSamueleDanieleCristianEmanueleMicheleEdoardoDiegoNicolò
GIRLS:
GiuliaSofiaMartinaSaraGiorgiaChiaraAuroraAlessiaAliceFrancescaAnnaGaiaEmmaElisaGiadaMatildeNoemiBeatriceElenaGretaFedericaRebeccaNicoleAriannaAsiaViolaIlariaVittoriaGinevraMarta
I'm frustrated that a few of my boys' favourites, like
Nicolò and
Lorenzo, are becoming so popular. There's also a few "evergreens" in the boys' lists, like
Giuseppe,
Giovanni,
Marco and
Francesco.
As for the girls, what's interesting to notice, considering that the turnover of names is slower in Italy and the name pool more restricted than in English-speaking countries, that the girls' list is full of names that in most cases were very uncommon one generation before. I'm in my early thirties and have never met a
Sofia,
Noemi or
Rebecca my age.
Asia was virtually unheard of, I'm assuming it's becoming popular because of actress
Asia Argento.
It's also interesting to see that
Emma seems to be popular everywhere right now. There are still however a few classics here, like
Anna and
Chiara. My own uber popular name,
Francesca, seems to *finally* have slipped off the radar.
I'd also assume that by now there's enough of an immigrant population in Italy for their names to enter the naming pool, I am curious to know if that's not the case yet or if immigrants are giving their children Italian names.