The name Italy (Italia) is an ancient name for the country and people of Southern Italy. Originally is was spelled Vitalia, probably from the same root as the Latin vitulus (a one-year-old calf), thus literally meaning 'calf-land' or "Land of Cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War.

W czasach starożytnych tereny dzisiejszych Włoch zamieszkiwało celtyckie plemię Wolków (lub Wolsków), które w językach germańskich określane było jako Walh, co znaczyło po prostu “obcy”.