Bellissimo! We're In Love With These Italian Baby Names

Every country has their own set of popular baby names. Liam and Emma were chart-topping American monikers this year, but the most popular Italian baby names were Francesco and Sofia in 2017 (the most recent recorded year of data), according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).

Looking at the trends of baby names in Italy from 1999-2017, a pattern emerges. Most male baby names end in the letter "o" whereas female baby names end in "a." The same names also appear over and over again throughout the years with classic names continually topping the charts. There aren't any Daenerys or Katniss babies in Italy (or, at least, not that many).

This holds true for my own Italian family, who alternated giving their male babies the name Joseph or Vincent for decades. (The Italian versions of these names are Giuseppe and Vincenzo.) Passing down a family name means a lot in the Italian culture. According to ItalianGeneology.com, it's been common in Italian families for the first child to be named after the paternal grandparent and the second child to be named after the maternal grandparent. My parents did it backwards, with my middle name coming from my maternal grandma and my brother's middle name (Vincent) coming from my paternal grandpa.

This hand-me-down naming strategy pays homage to your ancestors and also explains why these classic Italian names have never gone out of style.