Italian names and gender

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maria12000
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Italian names and gender

Post by maria12000 »

Could someone help me with the following first names and tell me whether they are male or female and the names in English?

Rosario
Loreto
Giuseppa
Cosima
Agostino
Cosimo
Vincenza
Lisetta

Thank you
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DonnaPellegrin
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Re: Italian names and gender

Post by DonnaPellegrin »

Almost every Italian given name has a male and a female equivalent. Names that end in o are male. Names that end in a are female.

The following link is a good one for learning the origin of Italian names.

http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/ita.html

Some names really have no English equivalent. Immigrants with those names sometimes changed their names to an American name that had a similar sound.

Of the names that you listed, I know the following:
Giuseppa = Josephine
Agostino = Augustine
Cosimo = Cosmo
Vincenza = female equivalent for Vincent

You might enjoy playing around with the links on this site.
http://anzwers.org/free/italiangen/italynames.html
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mfjp
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Re: Italian names and gender

Post by mfjp »

A good friend sent me this link...

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Poin ... ename.html

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suanj
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Re: Italian names and gender

Post by suanj »

Rosario=Rosary in honor of Madonna of Rosary
Loreto= Lawrence similar ,same roots of Lorenzo...why, Loreto name is in honor of Madonna di LORETO in Italy .........Loreto meaning "Laurus latin/Alloro italian" tree="Laurus" wood(mfjp can be to translate better Laurus/Alloro word)
Lisetta/diminutive of Elisa= Eliza(Elise)

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mfjp
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Re: Italian names and gender

Post by mfjp »

Loreto= Lawrence why, Loreto name is in honor of Madonna di LORETO in Italy .........Loreto meaning "Laurus latin/Alloro italian" tree="Laurus" wood(mfjp can be to translate better Laurus/Alloro word)
I don't know if I can translate better... I think suanj did very well...

I looked up the word "ALLORO" and according to my dictionary... it says WREATH...

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Re: Italian names and gender

Post by DeliBoy »

Sorry Donna, but I feel I have to pull you up on this one: "Names that end in o are male. Names that end in a are female."

95% of the time you are quite right, but there are a number of common exceptions like Nicola and Andrea which are both masculine names.

Another exception is the name Maria which is often given to a boy as a middle name even though Mario is a more common masculine version.
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Re: Italian names and gender

Post by DonnaPellegrin »

Thanks DeliBoy. You are of course quite right.

I've seen the name Maria on male birth certificates a number of times. I always squint and reread but in some cases the name is undeniably "Maria".
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maria12000
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Re: Italian names and gender

Post by maria12000 »

Thanks to all of you for the great information. These are my cousins in Italy and me not wanting to show my ignorance when addressing them, thought I would rely on some prefessional advice !!!!

Thanks to you all,

Maria
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