Popular Spanish girl names. Spanish First and Last Names: Taj Mahal Sanchez and Hitler Eufemio Mayora

Every name, male or female, has its own story. It is almost impossible to determine exactly where and under what circumstances children first began to be called by one name or another. Each has a history, dating back to ancient myths and legends. Most likely, most names simply indicate a character trait that they want to instill in a child.

But why do new names appear? The reasons are different: wars, geographical or scientific discoveries, emigration and immigration of the population.

If you look at the document of a Spanish citizen, you can see no more than 2 names and 2 surnames, despite the fact that in most European countries their number is unlimited. This is due to the fact that the state takes this issue seriously enough to avoid numerous confusions. When baptizing babies, you can assign any names allowed (approved) by the church in unlimited quantities. Typically this is done like this:

• The eldest son receives the first name of his father, the second - his grandfather on the male line;
• The eldest daughter first takes the name of her mother, and then the name of her maternal grandmother.

In general, a Spanish name consists of three main elements: a personal name ( nombre) and two surnames ( apellido): father ( apellido paterno or primer apellido) and mother ( apellido maternoorsegundo apellido).

The Spaniards are Catholic believers, great importance They devote their lives to the church, and therefore most of the names have their roots in Catholic saints. Spaniards do not like unusual and extravagant names and do not accept them in their lives. There are cases when the state refused to receive foreigners due to the fact that their names were quite unusual (for example, it is impossible to determine the gender of the bearer).

Many people associate Latin American countries with Spain, since in these territories Spanish is the official language, and when studying Spanish, the teacher can emphasize the differences between cultures and pronunciations. When it comes to names, there are also very big differences, despite the fact that Latinos use Spanish names. The only difference is that they can name the child whatever they want. Children are called English, American or even Russian names if the parents like it, and this will not be punishable by the state.

We can take the terrorist from Venezuela as an example. His name was Ilyich, and his brothers were Lenin and Vladimir Ramirez Sanchez. The staunch communist father reflected his views on life through the names of his children.

But such exceptions are extremely rare, although modernity has no boundaries or stereotypes. In Spain, simple and classic names With complex meanings, for example, Juan, Juanita, Julio, Julia, Maria, Diego, etc.

Separately, I would like to highlight the names and their origin (female):

• Biblical names: Anna, Mary, Martha, Magdalena, Isabel;
• Latin and greek names: Barbora, Veronica, Elena, Paola;
• Germanic: Erica, Motilda, Caroline, Louise, Frida.

• Biblical names: Miguel, Jose, Thomas, David, Daniel, Adan, Juan;
• Greek and latin names: Sergio, Andres, Alejandro, Hector, Pablo, Nicholas;
• German: Alonso, Alfonso, Luis, Carlos, Raymond, Fernando, Enrique, Ernesto, Raul, Rodrigue, Roberto.

Spanish female names and their meanings

• Agata – good
• Adelita (Adelita), Alicia (Alicia) Adela, Adelia (Adela) – noble
• Adora - adored
• Alondra – protector of humanity
• Alba – dawn, dawn
• Alta - high
• Angelina, Angel, Angelica - angel, angelic, messenger
• Anita – diminutive of Ana – benefit
• Ariadna – perfect, pure, immaculate
• Arcelia (Arcelia) Araceli, Aracelis (Aracelis) – wanderer, traveler
• Benita – blessed
• Bernardita – bear
• Blanca – clean, white
• Benita – blessed
• Valencia – domineering
• Veronica – victorious
• Gertrudis, Gertrudis – spear strength
• Gracia – graceful, graceful
• Jesusa - saved
• Juana, Juanita – merciful
• Dorotea – God's gift
• Elena – moon, torch
• Josefina - rewarder
• Ibby, Isabel (Isabel) – oath to God
• Inés – innocent, chaste
• Candelaria – candle
• Carla, Carolina – human
• Carmela and Carmelita - name in honor of Our Lady of Carmel
• Constancia – constant
• Consuela – consoler, the name is given in honor of Our Lady of Consolation (Nuestra Señora del Consuelo)
• Conchita - diminutive of Concepción - derived from the Latin concepto - “to become pregnant, to conceive.” The name is given in honor Immaculate Conception Virgin Mary (Inmaculada Concepción)
• Cristina – Christian
• Cruz - cross, pectoral cross
• Camila - servant of the gods, priestess
• Catalina – pure soul
• Leticia – joyful, happy
• Laura – laurel, (“crowned with laurel”)
• Luisa, Luisita – warrior
• Marita – diminutive of Maria – desired, beloved
• Marta – mistress of the house
• Mercedes - merciful, all-merciful (in honor of the Virgin Mary - María de las Mercedes)
• Maribel – fierce
• Nina – baby
• Ophelia - assistant
• Pepita – God will give another son
• Perla, Perlita – pearl
• Pilar, Pili – pillar, column
• Paloma - dove
• Ramona – wise protector
• Rebeca – alluring on the net
• Reina – queen, queen
• Renata – reborn
• Sarita (diminutive of Sara) - noble woman, mistress
• Sofia - wise
• Susana – water lily
• Trinidad – Trinity
• Francisca - free
• Chiquita is a diminutive name meaning little girl.
• Abigaíl – joy for father
• Evita – diminutive of Eva – lively, lively
• Elvira – friendly
• Esmeralda - emerald
• Estela, derived from Estrella - star

Spanish male names and their meanings

• Agustin - great
• Alberto, Alonso, Alfonso - noble
• Alfredo – elf
• Amado – favorite
• Andrés – warrior
• Antonio (Antonio) – flower
• Armando – strong, brave
• Aurelio – golden
• Basilio – regal
• Benito - blessed
• Berenguer, Bernardino, Bernardo – the strength and courage of a bear
• Valentin – healthy, strong
• Victor, Victorino, Vincente – winner and conqueror,
• Gaspar – teacher, master
• Gustavo - staff, support
• Horatio – excellent eyesight
• Damian - to tame, to subdue
• Desi - desired
• Herman (German) – brother
• Gilberto – light
• Diego – doctrine, teaching
• Jesus (Jesús) - named after Jesus, diminutives: Chucho, Chuy, Chuza, Chuchi, Chus, Chuso and others.
• Ignacio – fire
• Yousef - God will give another son
• Carlos – man, husband
• Christian (Cristian) – Christian
• Leandro – lion man
• Lucio - light
• Mario (Mario) – man
• Marcos, Marcelino, Marcelo, Marcial, Martin - names derived from the name of the Roman God of War - Mars, warlike
• Mateo – gift from Yahweh
• Mauricio – dark-skinned, Moor
• Modesto - modest, moderate, sober
• Maximino (Maximino), Maximo (Máximo) – great
• Nicholas (Nicolás) – victory of the people
• Osvaldo (Osvaldo) – owning, having power
• Pablo – baby
• Paco – free
• Pasqual – child of Easter
• Pastor – shepherd
• Patricio – noble, of noble origin
• Pio (Pío) – pious, virtuous
• Rafael – divine healing
• Ricardo, Rico – strong, persistent
• Rodolfo, Raul – wolf
• Rodrigo – ruler, leader
• Rolando - famous land
• Raynaldo - sage - ruler
• Sal, diminutive of Salvador - savior
• Sancho, Santos – saint
• Severino, Severo – strict, stern
• Sergio – servant
• Silvestre, Silvio – forest
• Salomón – peaceful
• Tadeo – grateful
• Teobaldo - a brave man
• Thomas (Tomás) – twin
• Tristan – rebel, rebel
• Fabricio – artisan
• Fausto – lucky guy
• Felipe – horse lover
• Fernando – brave, courageous
• Fidel - the most devoted, faithful
• Flavio – golden-haired
• Francisco (Francisco) - free
• Juan, Juanito – good God
• Julian, Julio - curly
• Edmundo – prosperous, protector
• Emilio – rival
• Enrique – powerful ruler
• Ernesto – diligent, diligent
• Esteban - name means crown
• Yusbayo, Yusebio - devout

The most popular names among adults:

• Jose (José)
• Antonio
• Juan
• Manuel
• Francisco

Among newborn babies:

• Daniel
• Alejandro
• Pablo
• David
• Adrian

If we return to female names, the following names are now popular among women:

• Maria
• Carmen
• Ana
• Isabel (Isabel)
• Dolores

And among girls, that is, recently born children:

• Lucia
• Maria
• Paula
• Sarah (Zara)
• Carla

As you noticed, it is very important for Spaniards that their names are easily understood, abandoning rare and unusual options, which significantly affects the reduction of the language barrier with foreign citizens.

Sometimes the connection between a full and a diminutive name is almost impossible to determine by ear: for example, at home little Francisco can be called Paco, Pancho and even Curro, Alfonso - Honcho, Eduardo - Lalo, Jesus - Chucho, Chuy or Chus, Anunciación - Chon or Chonita. In the same way, it is difficult for foreigners to understand why we call Alexander Shurik :)

Almost all Spanish names are simple but beautiful. We hope that getting to know them will make it easier for you to communicate with native Spanish speakers, because now you know a little more about the Spaniards!

Spanish names

According to Spanish law, a person can have no more than two names and two surnames recorded in his documents. In fact, at baptism you can give as many names as you like, depending on the wishes of the parents. Usually the eldest son is given the first name in honor of his father and the second in honor of his paternal grandfather, and the eldest daughter is given the name of her mother and the name of her maternal grandmother.

The main source of names in Spain is the Catholic calendar. There are few unusual names because Spanish registration laws are quite strict: not long ago, the Spanish authorities denied citizenship to a Colombian woman named Darling Velez on the grounds that her name was too unusual and it was impossible to determine the gender of its bearer.

In Latin America there are no such restrictions, and parents' imagination can work unhindered. Sometimes this fantasy gives rise to absolutely marvelous combinations, like Taj Mahal Sanchez, Elvis Presley Gomez Morillo and even Hitler Eufemio Mayor. And the famous Venezuelan terrorist Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez, nicknamed Carlos the Jackal, had two brothers whose names were... that's right, Vladimir and Lenin Ramirez Sanchez. No wonder: Papa Ramirez was a convinced communist and decided to perpetuate the name of his idol, so to speak, in triplicate. Another unlucky Venezuelan received the pompous name Mao Brezner Pino Delgado, and “Brezner” in in this case turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt to reproduce the Brezhnev surname. ( What's in a name? In Venezuela, just about anything)

However, these are all rare exceptions. In the Spanish-speaking world, the hit parade of names has been headed by familiar classic names for years: Juan, Diego, Carmen, Daniel, Camila, Alejandro and, of course, Maria.

Not just Maria

For obvious reasons, this name is one of the most common in Spain. It is given to both girls and boys (the latter as an addition to the male name: Jose Maria, Fernando Maria). However, many Spanish and Latin American Marias are not just Marias: their documents may include Maria de los Mercedes, Maria de los Angeles, Maria de los Dolores. In everyday life they are usually called Mercedes, Dolores, Angeles, which in literal translation sounds quite strange to our ears: “mercies” (that’s right, in the plural), “angels”, “sorrows”. In fact, these names come from various Catholic titles for Our Lady: Maria de las Mercedes(Mary the Merciful, lit. "Mary of Mercies"), Maria de los Dolores(Mary of Sorrows, lit. "Mary of Sorrows"), Maria la Reina de los Angeles(Mary is the queen of angels).

Here short list similar names:

Maria del Amparo - Mary the Patroness, Mary the Protector
Maria de la Anunciación - Mary of the Annunciation (from Spanish Anunciación - Annunciation)
Maria de la Luz - Light Maria (lit. "Mary of Light")
Maria de los Milagros - Mary the Wonderworker (lit. "Mary of Miracles")
Maria de la Piedad - Mary the Honored
Maria del Socorro - Maria the Helper
Maria de la Cruz - Mary of the Cross
Maria del Consuelo- Mary the Comforter
Maria de la Salud - letters "Mary of Health"
Maria del Pilar - lit. "Pillar Maria" (according to legend, when the Apostle James preached in Zaragoza, over a column standing on the banks of the Ebro River, he saw the image of the Virgin Mary. Subsequently, the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora del Pilar was built on this site).

IN real life the owners of these pious names are called simply Amparo, Anunciación, Luz, Milagros, Piedad, Socorro, Cruz, Consuelo, Salud and Pilar.

In addition, children are often given names in honor of revered icons or statues of the Mother of God. For example, the famous opera singer Montserrat Caballe (who, by the way, is actually not Spanish, but Catalan) is actually called Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepcion Caballe y Folk, and was named after Mary of Montserrat, revered in Catalonia - the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary from the monastery on Montserrat.

Pancho, Chucho and Conchita

The Spaniards are great masters at forming diminutive names. The easiest way is to add to the name diminutive suffixes: Gabriel - Gabrielito, Fidel - Fidelito, Juana - Juanita. If the name is too long, then the main part is “torn off” from it, and then the same suffix is ​​used: Concepcion - Conchita, Guadalupe - Lupita and Lupilla. Sometimes truncated forms of names are used: Gabriel - Gabi or Gabri, Teresa - Tere.

However, not everything is so simple. Sometimes it is completely impossible to recognize the connection between a diminutive and a full name by ear: for example, little Francisco at home may be called Pancho, Paco or Curro, Eduardo - Lalo, Alfonso - Honcho, Anunciación - Chon or Chonita, Jesus - Chucho, Chuy or Chus. The difference between the full and diminutive forms, as we see, is huge (however, foreigners also cannot understand why we call Alexander Shurik: in order to reproduce the series Alexander-Alexasha-Sasha-Sashura-Shura in your mind, you need to know the Russian language too well).

The situation is complicated by the fact that different names may have the same diminutives: Lencho - Florencio and Lorenzo, Chicho - Salvador and Narciso, Chelo - Angeles and Consuelo ( female names), as well as Celio and Marcelo (male).

Diminutive forms are formed not only from individual names, but also from double ones:

Jose Maria - Chema
Jose Angel - Chanhel
Juan Carlos - Juanca, Juancar, Juanqui
Maria Luisa - Marisa
Jesus Ramon - Jesusra, Hera, Herra, Chuimoncho, Chuimonchi

Sometimes such a merging of names gives a rather shocking result: for example, Lucia Fernanda can be called ... Lucifer ( Lucifer, in Spanish - Lucifer).

Diminutives are used quite rarely as passport names in Spain - primarily because until relatively recently this was prohibited by Spanish law. Now the only limitation is the “decent” sound of the diminutive form, as well as the ability to determine the gender of its bearer by name.

Boy or girl?

Once upon a time, at the dawn of the popularity of soap operas, the Venezuelan series “Cruel World” was broadcast on our television, the name of the main character of which our viewers initially heard as Rosaria. A little later it turned out that her name is Rosari O , and the diminutive is Charita. Then, again, it turned out that it was not Charita, but Charito, but our viewers, who had already gotten used to Conchitas and Esthersites, continued to call her “in the feminine gender” - Charita. That’s what they said, retelling each other the next episode: “And Jose Manuel kissed Charita yesterday...”.

In fact, the soap character's name was really Rosario, not Rosaria. Word rosario in Spanish male and denotes the rosary by which a special prayer is read to the Virgin Mary, which is also called Rosario(in Russian - Rosary). Catholics even have a separate holiday of the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary (Spanish. Maria del Rosario).

In Spanish-speaking countries, the name Rosario is very popular, given to both girls and boys, but traditionally it is considered feminine. And this is not the only female name that is “hermaphrodite”: the names Amparo, Socorro, Pilar, Sol, Consuelo are derived from Spanish words amparo, socorro, pilar, sol, consuelo grammatically masculine. And correspondingly, diminutives These names are also formed in a “masculine” way: Charito, Charo, Coyo, Consuelito, Chelo (although there are also “feminine” forms: Consuelita, Pilarita).

Most Common Spanish Names

10 most common names in Spain (whole population, 2008)

The most popular names among newborns (Spain, 2008)

The most popular names among newborns (Mexico, 2009)

Señor Garcia or Señor Lorca?

And finally, let's talk a little about Spanish surnames. Spaniards have two surnames: paternal and maternal. Moreover, the father's surname ( apellido paterno) is placed before the mother ( apellido materno): Federico Garcia Lorca (father - Federico Garcia Rodriguez, mother - Vicenta Lorca Romero). When officially addressed, only the paternal surname is used: accordingly, the Spanish poet was called Senor Garcia by his contemporaries, and not Senor Lorca.

(True, there are exceptions to this rule: Pablo Picasso (full name - Pablo Ruiz Picasso) became known not under his father's surname Ruiz, but under his mother's surname - Picasso. The fact is that there are no fewer Ruisovs in Spain than Ivanovs in Russia, but The surname Picasso is much less common and sounds much more “individual”).

Usually only the father's main surname is inherited, but in some cases (usually noble families, as well as among the Basques), children are also given the maternal surnames of their parents (in fact, the surnames of grandmothers on both sides).

In some localities, there is a tradition of adding to the surname the name of the locality where the bearer of this surname or his ancestors were born. For example, if a person’s name is Juan Antonio Gomez Gonzalez de San Jose, then in this case Gomez is the first, paternal surname, and Gonzalez de San Jose is the second, maternal surname. In this case, the particle "de" is not an indicator of noble origin, as in France, but simply means that the ancestors of the mother of our Juan Antonio came from a town or village called San José.

Mexico is a Spanish-speaking country. This circumstance leaves a significant imprint on local traditions naming name. Most modern male and female Mexican names have Spanish roots. They were brought here by settlers from Europe and formed the bulk of the local nomenclature. As for the original national names of Mexico, they are used extremely rarely. The traditions that the Indians followed have long lost their relevance.

Among the popular Mexican names for boys and girls, there are also those that have Latin, Greek and English roots. Some of them are borrowed from Hebrew and Germanic. In any case, the sound of lucky female and male Mexican names is surprisingly beautiful and original. This circumstance makes them very popular both among the population of Mexico and among residents of other countries.

Choosing a Mexican name for a boy or girl

For parents who decide to name a girl or boy a beautiful Mexican name, I would like to give... They should be extremely careful about the pronunciation of words. Mexico uses a special variant of Spanish. Because of this, some names may be pronounced differently.

When naming a child, you should rely not only on your hearing, but also on logic. It is very important to accurately determine the meaning of Mexican first and last names. After all, the character and future of the child depends on him. You can also inquire about the meaning of the name according to the horoscope. This will make the choice as balanced and favorable as possible.

List of modern Mexican names for boys

1. Alejandro. From the ancient Greek "protector"
2. Diego. Popular Mexican boy name meaning "scholar"
3. Leonardo. Translated into Russian it means “brave like a lion”
4. Manuel. Interpreted as “God is with us”
5. Mateo. Mexican boy name that means "gift of God"
6. Nestor. Translated into Russian it means “wise traveler”
7. Osvaldo. Interpreted as "God's power"
8. Pedro. From Greek "stone"
9. Sebastian. Popular Mexican male name. Means "highly respected"
10. Jesus. Spanish form of Jesus = "God help"

Top most beautiful Mexican names for girls

1. Bonita. Translated into Russian it means “beautiful”
2. Dorothea. Mexican female name that means "given by God"
3. Isabel. Interpreted as “dedicated to God”
4. Camila. Translated into Russian it means “the best”
5. Consuela. Mexican girl name meaning "comfort"
6. Pauline. Translated into Russian it means “modest”/“small”
7. Pilar. Interpreted as "column"
8. Regina. Means "queen"
9. Esperanza. Mexican female name meaning "hope"

The most popular men's and women's mexican names

• Today the most common are such men's mexican names, like Santiago, Mateo and Diego.
• Quite often boys are called Miguel Angel, Emiliano, Leonardo and Sebastian.
• The most popular female name in Mexico is Ximena. He is followed by Valentina, Maria Fernanda, Camila and Sophia.

OTHER COUNTRIES (select from the list) Australia Austria England Armenia Belgium Bulgaria Hungary Germany Holland Denmark Ireland Iceland Spain Italy Canada Latvia Lithuania New Zealand Norway Poland Russia (Belgorod region) Russia (Moscow) Russia (aggregated by region) Northern Ireland Serbia Slovenia USA Turkey Ukraine Wales Finland France Czech Republic Switzerland Sweden Scotland Estonia

select a country and click on it - a page with lists of popular names will open

Spain, 2014

SELECT YEAR 2014 2013 2008–2010

State in southwestern Europe. Located on the Iberian Peninsula. It borders Portugal, the British possession of Gibraltar, Morocco in northern Africa, France and Andorra. The capital is Madrid. Population – 47,370,542 (2013). Indigenous people– Spaniards (Castilians), Catalans, Basques, Galicians. Official languages: Castilian (Spanish); in the autonomous regions, along with it, there are other languages ​​(Catalan-Valencian-Balearic, Basque, Galician, Aranese). 95% of believers are Catholics.

On the Institute's website national statistics(El Instituto Nacional de Estadística) has a section with data on the 100 most common first names of newborns in Spain (based on birth records) for each year since 2002. The most recent data is for 2014. The leader in male first names was the name Daniel. For girls, the most common was Lucia. The statistics on the Institute’s website are presented in such a way that you can find out popular names both nationwide and for each administrative community of the country plus two autonomous cities. Also of interest are data on the top 10 names of people from different countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.

There is a lot of other things on the Institute’s website interesting material on the history of choosing names in Spain and on modern system names So, there is a list of names that appear at least 20 times. As of January 1, 2014, there were 24,853 men and 24,781 women. One can imagine the amount of work facing Spanish linguists if they set themselves the task of compiling etymological dictionary, which includes all these names. I'm not even talking about the task of covering names with lower frequency (less than 20) with such a dictionary. However, the number of different, unique names is somewhat smaller, since Spanish statistics consider not only single names, but also combinations of names like Maria Carmen as independent ones.

As of January 1, 2014 in Spain, the most common male name was Antonio(727,164 people). Next in descending frequency are the names Jose, Manuel, Francisco, Juan, David, Jose Antonio, Jose Luis, Javier, Francisco Javier. The most common name for women is Maria Carmen(672,523 speakers). Further - Maria, Carmen, Josefa, Isabel, Ana Maria, Maria Pilar, Maria Dolores, Maria Teresa, Ana.

The Institute’s materials also show how anthroponymic preferences changed over the decades (lists of the 50 most common names, distributed by date of birth).

Those men born before 1930, in the 30s and 40s, most often have a masculine name Jose. Those born in the 50s and 60s most often have the name Antonio. The most common among those born in the 70s and 80s is David. In the 90s and after 2000, the name was most often given Alejandro. As you can see, the name usually stays among the leaders for two decades.

As for female names, the number of leading names here is poorer than among male ones. Until the 30s, in the 30s the name was in the lead Maria. In the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, a double name was most often given Maria Carmen. In the 80s the leader was the name Laura. In the 90s and after 2000 - again Maria.

I will give you the 25 most common male and female names born in 2014. Links to pages with data for some more early years are in the drop-down list to the right of the title before the text (see Select year). More full picture every visitor to this page can find it on the website of El Instituto Nacional de Estadística (link at the end of the page).

Boys names

In brackets - Russian spelling

Place	Name	Number of adverbs
1	Hugo	5 121
2	Daniel (Daniel)	4 859
3	Pablo (Pablo)	4 494
4	Alejandro (Alejandro)	4 116
5	Alvaro (Alvaro)	3 670
6	Adrian (Adrian)	3 463
7	David	3 376
8	Martin	3 181
9	Mario	3 067
10	Diego	3 000
11	Javier	2 531
12	Manuel	2 475
13	Lucas	2 446
14	Nicolas (Nicholas)	2 319
15	Marcos (Marcos)	2 244
16	Leo (Leo)	2 162
17	Sergio (Sergio)	2 138
18	Mateo (Mateo)	2 107
19	Izan (Isan)	1 947
20	Alex (Alex)	1 935
21	Iker (Iker)	1 917
22	Marc (Mark)	1 902
23	Jorge	1 873
24	Carlos (Carlos)	1 772
25	Miguel (Miguel)	1 713

Girls names

In brackets - Russian spelling

Place	Name	Number of adverbs
1	Lucia (Lucia)	5 161
2	Maria (Maria)	4 951
3	Martina (Martina)	4 380
4	Paula (Paula)	4 210
5	Daniela (Daniela)	3 792
6	Sofia (Sofia)	3 568
7	Valeria (Valeria)	3 246
8	Carla (Carla)	3 138
9	Sara (Sarah)	3 116
10	Alba	3 111
11	Julia (Hulia)	3 107
12	Noa	2 744
13	Emma (Emma)	2 479
14	Claudia (Claudia)	2 456
15	Carmen	2 147
16	Marta (Martha)	1 998
17	Valentina (Valentina)	1 936
18	Irene	1 902
19	Adriana (Adriana)	1 881
20	Ana	1 797
21	Laura (Laura)	1 794
22	Elena (Elena)	1 781
23	Alejandra (Alejandra)	1 552
24	Ainhoa	1 485
25	Ines	1 410

Today many of our compatriots can easily name Spanish names (male and female). We owe this primarily to the spread of television and soap operas. Names popular in Spanish-speaking countries flooded into our lives with the advent of Mexican TV series. It is not clear what motivated people then - a passion for soap operas, or perhaps they were simply attracted by the sound of the name (beautiful Spanish names, male and female, are very popular), or our compatriots sought to claim originality...

This resulted in cases where girls began to be registered under names like Marisabel, and boys under names like Luis Alberto. Now this trend is already on the decline, as is the popularity of Mexican TV series. Nevertheless, Spanish names continue to attract increased interest today.

After reading this article, you will learn that traditions in Spanish-speaking countries in this area are somewhat different from Russian ones. Therefore they are quite interesting. We will present you the most popular Spanish names (male and female) and tell you about their features.

How many names are allowed to give to one child, according to Spanish law?

According to Spanish law, a person can have two names and two surnames recorded in his documents. At baptism, in fact, you can give as many names as you like. It depends on the wishes of the parents. The eldest son is usually given his first name after his father and his second name after his paternal grandfather. The eldest daughter, respectively, has the names of her mother and maternal grandmother.

Main source of names

In Spain, the main source of names is the Catholic calendar. There are few unusual options for nicknames in this country, since registration legislation in Spain is quite strict. For example, the authorities recently refused to grant citizenship to a Colombian woman on the grounds that her name (Darling Velez) was too unusual and it was impossible to determine the gender of the bearer from it.

Unusual cases

There are no such restrictions in Latin America, where parents’ imagination can work unhindered. Sometimes it produces marvelous combinations, for example, Hitler Eufemio Mayor and Taj Mahal Sanchez. And the terrorist from Venezuela, Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez, also known by his nickname Carlos the Jackal, had two brothers. Their names were Lenin and Vladimir Ramirez Sanchez. This is not surprising - their father was a convinced communist. He decided to perpetuate the name of the idol in this way. Another Venezuelan was nicknamed Mao Brezner Pino Delgado. The word "Brezner" is an attempt to reproduce the name of another famous person, Brezhnev.

However similar names- still there are rare exceptions. The “Hit Parade” in the Spanish-speaking world has been headed by classic familiar nicknames for many years in a row: Diego, Juan, Daniel, Alejandro (Spanish male names), Carmen, Camila and Maria (female).

Name Maria

This name, for obvious reasons, is one of the most common in Spain. Moreover, it is given not only to girls, but also to boys as a makeweight. Fernando Maria, Jose Maria, etc. are quite popular Spanish male names. However, many Latin American and Spanish Marys are not just Marys. They may have the following in their documents: Maria de los Angeles, Maria de los Mercedes, Maria de los Dolores. Usually in everyday life their names are Dolores, Mercedes, Angeles, which sounds rather strange in literal translation to our ears: “sorrows” (precisely in the plural), “mercies”, “angels”. These names actually come from the Catholic titles for Our Lady. The three options we have indicated are not a complete list. This also includes Marys, who in everyday life are simply called Ananciación, Amparo, Piedad, Milagros, Luz, Cruz, Socorro, Salud, Consuelo, Pilar.

In addition, children are often given names in honor of statues of the Mother of God or revered icons. For example, Montserrat Caballe, the famous opera singer (who is actually Catalan, not Spanish) is named Maria de Montserrat (the full name is even longer) in honor of Mary of Montserrat - a miraculous statue revered in Catalonia, located on Mount Montserrat in one of the monasteries. A photo of this Spanish celebrity is presented below.

Chucho, Pancho and Conchita

The Spaniards are great masters of forming diminutive analogues from names. The easiest way is to add diminutive suffixes to the name: Juana - Juanita, Fidel - Fidelito. If it is too long, the main part is “torn off”, after which the same suffix is ​​used: Concepcion - Conchita, or, for example, Guadalupe - Lupilla or Lupita. Sometimes truncated forms of names are used: Teresa - Tere, Gabriel - Gabri or Gabi.

Data from the Institute for National Statistics

The Institute for National Statistics has created a special section that lists the 100 most common baby names in Spain by year, starting in 2002. The list includes both popular male and female names. In 2010, for example, Daniel was the leader of the male name, and the female name was Lucia.

If we take strictly passport records into account, then in Spain as of 01/01/2010 the most popular male name was Antonio. Then there are such Spanish male names as Jose, Manuel, Francisco, Juan, David, Jose Antonio, Jose Luis. For women, the most common is Maria Carmen. Then - Maria, Carmen, Anna Maria, Maria Dolores, Maria Pilar and others.

Misleading names

Many Spanish male first and last names are misleading. So, for example, the name Chucho, which is not entirely euphonious for us, has full form Jesus (or otherwise Jesus). Pancho is a diminutive of Francisco. Lalo - from Eduardo. You say it doesn't look like it? But even a Spaniard would never guess that Alexander, Shura and Sasha are the same name. Sometimes it is completely impossible to recognize by ear the connection between a full name and a diminutive name. For example, Francisco may be called Pancho, Curro or Paco at home.

Different countries have different characteristics.

Names that can be either feminine or masculine

There are names that can be both feminine and masculine. But not like our Sasha, Vali, Zhenya and even Olga and Oleg, who stand apart. If they name a girl Chelo, she could be either Angeles or Consuelo. But if you call a boy that, there will be the following two options: Celio and Marcelo.

Rosario

There is a very funny situation with the name Rosario. It is a masculine word in Spanish. However, representatives of both sexes are called by this name. It denotes a rosary for praying to the Queen of the Rosary, that is, the Virgin Mary. It turns out that in this case the boy is simply called Rosary, and the girl is called Maria del Rosario.

Spanish surnames

Let's talk a little about Spanish surnames. Residents of Spain have two of them: maternal and paternal. Last name in this case it is placed in front. Only she, without the maternal one, is used in official address. For example, Federico Garcia Lorca, a famous Spanish poet, was called Señor Garcia by his contemporaries. His photo is presented below.

Usually only the father's main surname is inherited. However, in some cases (mainly in noble and Basque families) the maternal surnames of the parents can also be passed on. There is a tradition in some regions of the country to add the name of the locality in which the bearer of a particular surname or his ancestors was born. However, it exists only as a local feature.

Spanish women do not change their last name when they get married. They just add the husband's last name.

Is originality encouraged?

So, we looked at what names the Spaniards give their children. At the same time, they very rarely deviate from the calendar, which contains Spanish male names. The list also includes female names that can be used to name a child. Only a small number of names are present in the Catholic calendar that could be considered unusual. The Spanish authorities are very disapproving of efforts towards originality. Until quite recently, the law prohibited the inclusion of diminutive forms of names in official documents. However, there is no such restriction now. The main thing is that the name clearly indicates the gender of the person to whom it refers, and at the same time sounds decent. This practice, however, has not yet become widespread.

Spanish male names sound slightly different in English or Russian. The same applies to female names. For example, Rosario sounds unusual to us as a female name. I would like to say Rosaria. Now that you know about some of the peculiarities of Spanish names, you can avoid such mistakes.