Fewer Italian female names start with ‘P’ compared to male names. An interesting coincidence is that the Italian word for “father” (padre) starts with the letter ‘P’ while the Italian word for mother (madre) starts with an ‘M’ —and there are plenty of Italian girl names that begin with ‘M’.
Even though there aren’t many widely-used Italian female names that start with the letter ‘P,’ those that do are often very beautiful.
In contrast to the limited selection of Italian female names that begin with ‘P’, there is an abundance of Italian male names that start with that letter.
A group of Italian names that start with ‘P’ have a common origin with the Italian word “pietra” (which means “stone”).
These Italian names originate from the Ancient Greek name Πετρος (Petros), which means “stone” or “rock,” and which Latin adopted in the form Petrus.
In the same way that this produced the names Peter, Pierce, and Piers (in English), it led to the Italian male names Pietro, Piero, Pierino, and Pier, as well as the female names Pietra, Piera, and Pierina.
The enduring solidity of stones confers to those etymologically-related names a sense of resilience and dependability.
The popularity of these names led to their use in compound Italian first names such as Pierpaolo, Pierangelo, Piermario, and Pierluca.
The Latin adjective “patricius” (which means “noble”) is the origin of the Italian female name Patrizia and the male name Patrizio.
The letter ‘z’ gives these names a distinctively Italian spelling, making it easy to overlook their shared Latin origin with the English names Patricia and Patrick.
The Italian name Paola and masculine variant Paolo come from the Latin names Paula and Paulus, which mean “small” in the sense of “humble” or “modest.”
Several Italian names that begin with the letter ‘P’ arose as diminutives of other names that don’t necessarily start with ‘P’
Pippo is a diminutive of the Italian name Filippo or Giuseppe. Peppino is a name derived from Giuseppe. And Pinuccio is a diminutive of Giuseppino or other names ending in -pino.
Some Italian names start with ‘P’ because they begin with the Greek prefix “pan-” which means “all.”
For example, Panfilo (from “philos” meaning “beloved”), Pancrazio (from “kratos” meaning “power”), Pantaleo (from “leo” meaning “lion”), Pantaleone (same as the previous name).
Some Italian names that begin with ‘P’ which are related to ancient history and mythology:
Paride is an Italian name taken from Greek mythology. The English equivalent of this name is Paris. In mythology, Paris is a prince of Troy who participates in the Trojan War.
Pericle is another Italian name from Ancient Greece, where Pericles (English spelling) was an influential statesman in Athens.
Pompeo is an Italian name derived from that of the Roman general Pompeius (Pompey in English), who participated in transforming Ancient Rome from a republic into an empire.
Plinio is the Italian form of the Latin name Plinius. During the Renaissance, there was a renewed interest in classical antiquity, and the revival of this name may be a tribute to the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder.