You are on the lookout for a new cute pet name for your little one? How about one of our Italian nicknames for boys? They are less common than your usual “baby” or “little rascal”. And another benefit of the Italian language is that it has a very mellow and melodic sound. Plus it repeatedly ranks very high amongst the languages considered to be very romantic, so it is perfectly suited for nicknames, pet names and other terms of endearment.
So go on and browse through our compilation. We are quite sure you’ll discover a new sweet name for your baby boy.
Table of Contents
- Cute Italian Nicknames for Boys
- Funny Italian Nicknames for Boys
- Borderline cruel Italian Nicknames for Boys
Cute Italian Nicknames for Boys
- Amore mio – “My love”, our first nickname is straight to the point. Of course, this one works well as a pet name for your partner too.
- Angioletto – Little Angel.
- Bello – Means beautiful in Italian.
- Bellissimo – The most beautiful of them all.
- Biscottino – A “small biscuit.”
- Carino – Of course your little prince is “handsome”.
- Caro mio – Translates as “my dear”, even stronger in the form of carissimo mio, “my dearest.”
- Cioccolatino – Una scatola di cioccolatini is a box of chocolates, so cioccolatino means your boy is as sweet as a chocolate.
- Cucciolo – Translates as “puppy” or generally any baby animal.
- Cuore mio – “My heart” is a nice pet name for someone you love dearly.
- Micio – Micio means “kitty” and
- Micino – means “kitten”.
- Orsacchiotto – Orso is the Italian word for “bear,” and orsacchiotto means “bear cub” or “teddy bear.”
- Passerotto – Of all the different birds the “sparrow” (or passero) appears quite often as term of endearment. Here, passerotto means “little sparrow.”
- Patatino – Italians are very passionate about food. So food is also often used for pet or nicknames. Here patatino means “little potato,” a rather common nickname in Italy.
- Piccolino – Meaning “very small,” piccolino is the Italian equivalent of “wee” or “little ‘un.”
- Principino – Principe means “Prince”, principino is a young prince.
- Pupino – The Italian term for a little baby.
- Scricciolo – Another nickname based on a bird (see passerotto), scricciolo means “wren.”
- Tesorino – Translates as “little treasure.”
- Topolino – Topino and topolino both mean “little mouse” (Topolino is also the name used for Mickey Mouse in Italy.)
- Zuccherino – Meaning your baby boy is as sweet as a “sugar lump.”
Funny Italian Nicknames for Boys
Some of these have a nice sound, others have a funny meaning. And who would have thought you can call someone “meatball” in a nice way?
- Bombolone – Bomboloni are an Italian pastry, similar to a doughnut.
- Cetriolino – Cetriolino means a “little gherkin”.
- Cipollino – Calling your kid “little onion” would be rather unusual in English, but it’s quite common in Italian.
- Mostro – Mostro translates as “Monster”.
- Pimpi – A pimpi is a “piglet” in Italian.
- Polpetto – Polpetta are Italian “meatballs.” Not the nicest nickname in English, but again: Italians love their food. So a polpetto might be a bit rounder, but he’s totally adorable!
- Pulcino – Meaning “chick”. In Italy soccer or football is a very popular sport, and football players under the age of eleven are called i pulcini.
- Scimmietto – Scimmietto means “little monkey”, so it is well suited for a very lively boy.
Borderline cruel Italian Nicknames for Boys
Calling your boy “little stinker” while he’s still wearing diapers and doesn’t really understand you anyway, is probably ok. But when your kid starts speaking, you should stop using this kind of nicknames. Especially when his friends are around, as they might tease him with what you thought to be a funny nickname. After all, you want your child to become a strong, independent personality and not undermine his self-esteem.
So be more cautious with the following Italian nicknames for boys.
- Brontolo – A “grumpy person.” So probably an acceptable nickname for those rare occasions when your little angel is throwing a tantrum.
- Carota – You will have guessed that carota means carrot. I never really understand why ginger haired people are being teased so often. But I guess being compared to a carrot is one of the milder forms of ridicule to them.
- Cicalone – Means a “cicada”. Or a guy who talks a lot, a chatterer.
- Ciccione – Means “fatty” or “chubby.”
- Gnocco – Means a “dumpling” and is also used as a nickname for a clumsy person.
- Puzzone – A “smelly person” or “stinkpot.” So puzzone is suitable when your little one ist still wearing diapers.
- Tontolino – A tonto is a bonehead, so a tontolino is a “little dummy.”
So, what do you think of these Italian nicknames for boys? And in case we missed out on your personal favorite. let us know!
And in case you have fallen in love with Italian as much as we did, why not take look at our entry about Italian Pet Names for Lovers? You are likely to find a nice new pet name for your partner as well.
