Giovanni

Giovanni is the Italian form of John, from the Hebrew Yochanan, "God is gracious." Its bearers include Boccaccio, Bellini, and half the great painters of the Italian Renaissance, and the name has been the most common Italian boy's name for centuries. In the U.S. it has held a steady place in the top 200 since the 1980s, rising into the top 150 in the 2010s as Italian names found a wider American embrace. Four syllables unfurl with musical precision, joh-VAH-nee, ending on a bright vowel. The nickname Gio lands with easy cool. Giovanni reads as warm, artistic, and built for long Sunday lunches.