Common names of fish in Italian

Fish names are always a challenge across languages, even in English. Names change regionally, and can refer to a species, a family, a dish, or new marketing-defined brand names. Asian Carp, that invasive species threatening to wreck massive ecological damage to the Great Lakes, has recently been rebranded as “Copi.” Funded by an effort of the EPA, the hope is to get more folks to eat them up. I’d rather enjoy a “seared Copi with lemon butter” than a carp cake, I suspect.

Let’s take a look at what you’re most likely to come across on a menu in Italy. This list is an ongoing project and attempts to be comprehensive; I’ve bolded the most common variety you’ll see, and added some culinary notes.

Fish

Singular / Plural	English	Notes
Alice, alici	Fresh anchovies	From Genoa you’ll find alici fritte, a delicious dish of fresh alici, opened, flattened, and fried
Acciuga, acciughe	Preserved, salted anchovies, under oil	What you might find served on a pizza, or as an ingredient for a sauce with garlic and peperoncino. A funny Italian expression: “You’re like an acciuga”  — skinny.
Aringa, aringhe	Herring	You might see this as aringa affumicata, smoked herring, served under olive oil, vinegar, and onions.
Anguilla, anguille	Eel	A standard Christmas dish in the north, served pickled and chilled.
Baccalà	Salted cod	Merluzzo, salted and dried for preservation and storage. You might also see this as stoccafisso (Stock fish). In Venice, served whipped as crostini.
Bottarga	Dried, salted fish roe	Fish eggs, dried, salted, and then grated onto especially pasta dishes. Typically bottarga di muggine (mullet); can be bottarga di tonno (tuna).
Branzino, branzini	Sea bass	Most often served whole, grilled. A spectacular dish.
Cernia, cernie	Grouper
Dentice, dentici	Sea bream
Merluzzo, merluzzi	Fresh cod	Typically imported from the Atlantic.
Muggine, muggini	Red mullet	This is the fish whose dried, salted eggs make bottarga
Nasello, naselli	Hake
Orata, orate	Gilthead sea bream	In Spanish, and some US menus, you’ll see this as “dorada,” one of the better ocean white fishes.
Passera di mare	Flounder	Be careful: “passera” by itself means pussy. 🙀
Persico, persici	Freshwater perch	Typically found in the lakes of Lombardy.
Pesce spada	Swordfish
Rana Pescatrice	Monkfish
Razza	Stingray
Rombo	Turbot, brill
Salmone, salmoni	Salmon
Sarda, sarde	Sardine	Pasta con le sarde is a famous Sicilian pasta dish that features sardines and fennel
Scorfano, scorfani	Scorpionfish	Also, an ugly person
Sogliola, sogliole	Sole, dover sole
Sgombro, sgombri	Mackerel
Spigola, spigole	Sea bass
Tonno, tonni	Tuna
Trota, trote	Freshwater trout	Also, trota salmonata, rainbow trout

Shellfish

Singular / Plural	English	Notes
Aragosta, aragoste	🦞 Spiny lobster	Unlike the Maine variety, these lack the prominent front claw.
Astice, astici	Maine lobster	Imported
Capasanta, capasante	🦪 Scallops	Falls under molluschi (mollusks).
Calamaro, calamari	🦑 Squids	Few Americans need an introduction to calamari fritti, that classic dish of fried squids served with lemon (and, in the states, a red sauce, which you’ll never see in Italy.)
Cicale, or canocchia	Mantis shrimp	A large and flat shrimp. I think this is the colorful one with crazy eyes and a supersonic snapping claw that stuns fish.
Cozza, cozze	Mussels	Often included in frutti di mare
Frutti di mare	“Fruits of the sea”	Generally refers to shellfish, but can include regular fish, too.
Gambero, gamberi; gamberoni, gamberetto	🦐 Shrimp; prawn when it’s large; little shrimps
Mazzancolle	🦞 Langoustine	A Venetian variety of king prawn, often made as mazzancolle in saor
Mitilo, mitili	Mussels	A regional variety of mussels, long and skinny
Moscardino, moscardini	🐙 🐙 Tiny octopi	Usually a plate of many, served saucy or in a stew, sometimes in a sandwich
Ostrica, ostriche	🦪 Oyster	Not very common, surprisingly. In reference to a person, someone who is ‘closed off,’ shy.
Polpo/polpi 🐙	🐙 Octopus	You may also see polipo, referring to the live animal.
Riccio di mare, ricci di mare	Sea urchin	Common in Sicily. Literally, ‘hedgehogs of the sea,’ aaaaw.
Seppia, seppie	Cuttlefish	A common dish is Risotto Nero di Seppia — risotto flavored with black cuttlefish ink
Scampi	Shrimp
Scoglio, scogli	🐚 “Sea rocks”	A general term for a mix of hard shelled critters, a dish of a variety of different clams or mussels. Also references large rocks off the sea shore.
Totano, totani	🦑 A regional kind of squid
Vongola, vongole	🐚 Clams	Spaghetti con le vongole is well known — never served with grated cheese.

Other sea animals, not for eating!

• Balena: whale. Oddly, arcobalena: rainbow.
• Squalo: shark! 🦈
• Orca: killer whale 
• Pesce martello: hammer shark 
• Delfino: 🐬