Birth rates in Italy continue to decline, but families with a migrant background still play a significant role in the country’s demographic landscape. Ahead of Mother’s Day on May 10, Fondazione ISMU ETS released an analysis of the most popular names chosen by foreign parents living in Italy, alongside updated figures on births and migration.
According to provisional data from Istat, 355,000 babies were born in Italy in 2025, around 15,000 fewer than in 2024, marking a 3.9% decrease. Children with foreign citizenship accounted for 48,000 births, or 14% of the national total, also down compared with the previous year.
Fondazione ISMU estimates, however, that when considering all children born to foreign mothers - regardless of the father’s or the child’s citizenship - nearly 71,000 babies were born in Italy in 2024, representing about 19% of all births nationwide. Foreign mothers also tend to be significantly younger than Italian mothers, with an average age at childbirth of 25 compared with 33 among Italians.
The largest communities are Romanian, Moroccan, Albanian and Bangladeshi. More than 9,400 children were born to Romanian mothers, about 8,000 to Moroccan mothers, 7,600 to Albanian mothers and over 4,500 to Bangladeshi mothers.
Naming trends also reveal different cultural identities and varying degrees of integration. Among boys born to foreign parents, the most common names include Gabriel, Adam, Amar, Matteo and Leonardo, while Sofia, Amira and Luna are especially popular among girls.
Romanian families often choose names that are widely used in Italy, such as Matteo, Luca and Leonardo for boys, and Sofia, Melissa and Eva Maria for girls. In the Albanian community, Amar, Liam and Aron are common for boys, while Luna, Emily and Amelia are popular choices for girls.
Among Moroccan and Bangladeshi families, naming traditions remain more closely tied to their countries of origin. Moroccan parents frequently choose Adam, Amir and Rayan for boys and Amira, Sara and Nour for girls. Bangladeshi parents often opt for Abdullah, Ayan and Anas for boys, and Anabia, Sara, Inaya and Anaya for girls.
The use of double surnames is also becoming increasingly common in Italy. In 2024, 6.7% of newborns were registered with both parents’ surnames, up more than four percentage points compared with 2020. The trend is particularly widespread in central and northern Italy and reaches its highest levels among mixed-nationality couples, especially when at least one parent comes from Latin American or Iberian countries, where the use of both surnames is a long-standing tradition.