Behind every name, male or female, there is a story. It is almost impossible to determine exactly where and under what circumstances children were first called by one name or another. Each has a story, rooted in ancient myths and legends. Most likely, most names simply denote 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 there, 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 acceptable (approved) names by the church in unlimited quantities. As a rule, this is done like this:

• The eldest son receives the first name of the father, the second - the grandfather in 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 ( appellido): father ( appellido paterno or primer appellido) and mother ( apellido maternoorsegundo appellido).

Spaniards are devout Catholics great importance in their lives they devote to the church, and therefore most of the names are rooted 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 rather unusual (for example, it was impossible to determine the gender of the carrier).

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

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

But such exceptions are extremely rare, although there are no boundaries and stereotypes for modernity. In Spain, at the peak of popularity, simple and classic names with complex values, 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: Erika, Motilda, Carolina, Louise, Frida.

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

Spanish female names and their meaning

• Agatha (Agata) - good
• Adelita (Adelita), Alicia (Alicia) Adela, Adela (Adela) - noble
• Adora - adorable
• Alondra - protector of mankind
• Alba (Alba) - dawn, dawn
• Alta (Alta) - high
• Angelina (Angelina), Angel (Ángel), Angelica (Angélica) - angel, angelic, messenger
• Anita (Anita) - diminutive of Ana (Ana) - benefit
• Ariadne (Ariadna) - perfect, pure, immaculate
• Arcelia (Arcelia) Araceli, Aracelis (Aracelis) - wanderer, traveler
• Benita (Benita) - blessed
• Bernardita - bear
• Blanca - pure, white
• Benita (Benita) - blessed
• Valencia (Valencia) - imperious
• Veronica - victorious
• Gertrudis, Gertrudis - the power of the spear
• Gracia - graceful, graceful
• Jesus (Jesusa) - saved
• Juana (Juana), Juanita (Juanita) - merciful
• Dorothea (Dorotea) - God's gift
• Elena (Elena) - moon, torch
• Josephine (Josefina) - retributor
• Ibbi, Isabel - an oath to God
• Ines (Inés) - innocent, chaste
• Candelaria - candle
• Carla (Carla), Carolina (Carolina) - human
• Carmela and Carmelita - a name in honor of Our Lady of Carmel
• Constance (Constancia) - constant
• Consuela - comforter, the name is given in honor of Our Lady of Comfort (Nuestra Señora del Consuelo)
• Conchita is a diminutive of Concepción, derived from the Latin concepto meaning "to conceive". The name is given in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (Inmaculada Concepción)
• Christina (Cristina) - Christian
• Cruz - cross, pectoral cross
• Camila (Camila) - servant of the gods, priestess
• Catalina - a pure soul
• Leticia - joyful, happy
• Laura (Laura) - laurel, ("crowned with laurel")
• Luis (Luisa), Luisita (Luisita) - warrior
• Marita (Marita) - diminutive of Maria (María) - desired, beloved
• Marta (Mistress of the House)
• Mercedes (Mercedes) - merciful, all-merciful (in honor of the Virgin - María de las Mercedes)
• Maribel - fierce
• Nina (Nina) - baby
• Ofelia (Ofelia) - assistant
• Pepita - God will give another son
• Pearl (Perla), Perlita (Perlita) - pearl
• Pilar (Pilar), Pili (Pili) - pillar, column
• Paloma (Paloma) - dove
• Ramona - wise protector
• Rebeca (Rebeca) - alluring in the network
• Reina (Reina) - queen, queen
• Renata - reborn
• Sarita (Sarita) diminutive of Sara (Sara) - a noble woman, mistress
• Sofia (Sofía) - wise
• Susana - water lily
• Trinidad - Trinity
• Francisco (Francisca) - free
• Chiquita is a diminutive name meaning little girl.
• Abigail - joy for the father
• Evita (Evita) - diminutive of Eva (Eva) - lively, lively
• Elvira - benevolent
• Esmeralda (Esmeralda) - emerald
• Estela (Estela), derived from Estrella (Estrella) - a star

Male Spanish names and their meaning

• Agustin (Agustin) - great
• Alberto (Alberto), Alonso (Alonso), Alfonso (Alfonso) - noble
• Alfredo (Alfredo) - elf
• Amado (Amado) - beloved
• Andres (Andrés) - warrior
• Antonio (Antonio) - flower
• Armando - strong, brave
• Aurelio - gold
• Basilio - regal
• Benito - blessed
• Berenguer (Berenguer), Bernardino (Bernardino), Bernardo (Bernardo) - the strength and courage of the bear
• Valentine (Valentin) - healthy, strong
• Victor (Víctor), Victorino (Victorino), Vincente - winner and conqueror,
• Gaspar - teacher, master
• Gustavo - staff, support
• Horatio (Goracio) - excellent vision
• Damian (Damián) - to tame, 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 (Leandro) - a man-lion
• Lucio (Lucio) - light
• Mario - male
• Marcos (Marcos), Marcelino (Marcelino), Marcelo (Marcelo), Marcial (Marcial), Martin (Martín) - names derived from the name of the Roman God of war - Mars, warlike
• Mateo - a gift from Yahweh
• Mauricio (Mauricio) - dark-skinned, Moor
• Modesto (Modesto) - modest, moderate, sober
• Maximino (Maximino), Maximo (Máximo) - great
• Nicholas (Nicolás) - victory of the people
• Osvaldo (Osvaldo) - owning, having power
• Pablo (Pablo) - baby
• Paco - free
• Pasqual (Pasqual) - child of Easter
• Pastor - shepherd
• Patricio (Patricio) - noble, noble origin
• Pio (Pío) - pious, virtuous
• Rafael - divine healing
• Ricardo (Ricardo), Rico (Rico) - strong, persistent
• Rodolfo (Rodolfo), Raul (Raúl) - wolf
• Rodrigo (Rodrigo) - ruler, leader
• Rolando - famous land
• Reinaldo - sage - ruler
• Sal (Sal), diminutive of Salvador (Salvador) - savior
• Sancho, Santos (Saint)
• Severino (Severino), North (Severo) - strict, harsh
• Sergio (Servant)
• Silvestre, Silvio - forest
• Salomon - peaceful
• Tadeo - grateful
• Teobaldo (Teobaldo) - a brave man
• Thomas (Tomás) - twin
• Tristan (Tristán) - rebel, rebel
• Fabricio (Fabricio) - artisan
• Fausto - lucky guy
• Felipe - horse lover
• Fernando (Fernando) - bold, courageous
• Fidel (Fidel) - the most devoted, faithful
• Flavio (Flavio) - golden-haired
• Francisco (Francisco) - free
• Juan (Juan), Juanito (Juanito) - good God
• Julian (Julián), Julio (Julio) - curly
• Edmundo - prosperous, protector
• Emilio - rival
• Enrique (Enrique) - a powerful ruler
• Ernesto (Ernesto) - diligent, diligent
• Esteban (Esteban) - the name means - the crown
• Usebio, Usebio - devout

Most popular names among adults:

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

Among newborns:

• Daniel
• Alejandro (Alejandro)
• Pablo (Pablo)
• David (David)
• Adrian (Adrian)

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

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

And among girls, that is, recently born children:

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

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

Sometimes there is a connection between complete and pet name it is almost impossible to determine: for example, the houses of little Francisco can be called Paco, Pancho and even Curro, Alfonso - Honcho, Eduardo - Lalo, Jesus - Chucho, Chuy or Chus, Anunciasion - 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 law states that every citizen has the right to officially own no more than two given names and surnames. At baptism, they can give the child several names, it all depends on the wishes of the parents. Typically, the eldest daughter is named after her mother, while the second daughter is named after her maternal grandmother. The main and main source of names in Spain are the Catholic Saints. There are very few unusual names in this people, since the Spanish registration law controls this process very strictly. For carriers of unusual names, the chances of obtaining citizenship in Spain are equal to zero. In the Spanish-language hit parade of names, the first places almost every year are headed by such classic names as Carmen, Camila, Maria ...

Simple name Mary

The name Maria is considered a fairly common name in Spain. It is given not only to girls, but also to boys, as a makeweight: Jose Maria, for example. At the same time, most of the Spanish and Latin American Marys appear in documents in a completely different way, for example, as Maria de los Mercedes, Maria de los Dolores, and in everyday life girls are called Dolores, Mercedes. Such names are derived from various titles of Our Lady, for example, Maria de los Mercedes means "Mary of Mercies" and Maria de los Dolores "Mary of Sorrows".

A short list of names formed from the titles of the Mother of God:

María del Amparo - Mary the Protectress, Mary the Protector

Maria de la Anunciación - Mary of the Annunciation

Maria de la Luz - Holy Mary

Maria de los Milagros - Mary the Miraculous

Maria de la Piedad - Honored Mary

María del Socorro - Mary Helping

Maria de la Cruz - Mary at the Cross

Maria del Consuelo - Mary the Comforter

Maria de la Salud - Mary of Health

Maria del Pilar - Pillar Mary

In real life, girls with such pious names are called Amparo, Luz, Anunciación, Milagros, Socorro, Piedad, Consuelo, Cruz, Salud and Pilar.

Short list of Spanish girl names:

What do Spanish names mean: interpretation and history of origin

By the 15th century, that is, the period of unification of the feudal states located on the Iberian Peninsula, the formation of the Spanish national language, which belongs to the Romance group of the Indo-European language family. The history of the Spaniards in previous eras explains the presence in their language of Greek, Latin, Old High German, and also Arabic words. This fully applies to Spanish anthroponymy.

In the XV-XVI centuries, the colonization of America by the Spaniards began. The Spanish colonizers of South, Central and Southern North America mixed with the natives - the local Indian population, as well as with blacks, and gradually formed the ethnic core of virtually all modern Latin American nations - Argentines, Venezuelans, Colombians, Cubans, Chileans. During the era of colonial expansion and the heyday of Spain, the Spanish language spread to Central and South America, except for Brazil.

Features of the anthroponymic model

In the Spanish anthroponymic model, the following most typical cases can be conditionally distinguished:

1. simple binomial model, that is, a personal name, nombre de pila, and a family name, nombre de apellido, such as Mario Saenz;

2. a three-term model, that is, two personal names and one family name, for example, Juan Romulo Fernandez;

3. polynomial model:

a) one or more personal names and two family names, where the surname number one can be patronymic in nature, and the surname number two comes from the name of the place of birth, residence, for example, Carlos Sanchez Malaga;

b) one or more personal names and two or more family names, combined with particles y, de or a combination of the article and the particle de (de la, de los, de las, del), for example: Gustavo Arboleda y Restrepo, fosefa Fernandez de Garay, Rosa Arciniega de la Torre, Maximo Farfan de las Godos,
Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros, Teresa Alvarez del Castillo;

c) one or more personal names and attached to them in various ways (combinations of particles and combinations of the article with particle de) one (two or more) family names, for example: Oscar Quesada at de la Guerra, Teodoro Caballero at Martinez del Camp.

Roots of the origin of names

Spanish male and female personal names are derived from Greek (Nicomedes, Medea), Roman (Romulo, Cesar), Arabic (Farida, Neguib), Germanic (Amelberga, Ricardo) and Hebrew (Uriel, Maria) sources. Most Spaniards are Catholics, and according to the canons of the Roman Catholic Church, the choice of personal names at baptism is limited to the names of saints from church calendar. The child is called one, two or (less common) several personal names. For a long time there was a tradition to name the first child by the name of the paternal grandfather, and the second - by the maternal side or by the name of some outstanding ancestor of the family. Some biblical (Lamec, Bezabel), mythological (Polux, Clitemnestra), historical (Neron) names used earlier in Spain and Latin America have disappeared, others belonging to the same categories (Daniel, Lucas, Martin, Bartolome, Saul; Hector, Delia ; Anibal, Napoleon), are still used today.

Starting from the 30s of the 20th century in Spain, and then in other countries, among people of Spanish origin, names have become widespread, the stems of which relate to the following lexical fields, using the example of female names: abstract (symbolic) names (Encarnacion "incarnation", Concepcion "knowledge", Libertad "freedom"), names of flowers (Rosa "rose", Violeta "violet", Camelia "camellia", Flora "vegetation"), names of precious stones (Diamante "diamond", Perlas "pearl") , as well as the names of literary heroes (Ofelia, Graciela).
The Spanish name book currently includes foreign names, which entered the Spanish language as a result of a wide variety of contacts and connections with speakers of other languages, primarily Romance: for example, English names- Milton, Uladis, French - Josette, Yvonne, Italian - Italo, Menotti.

The formation of Spanish personal names is based on derivation and suppletivism. By the way of derivation, affectionate and diminutive forms of names are formed; while the most common suffixes are -ito(-ita), -ico(-ica); -illo(-illa). So, for example, from the names Juan, Ana, Ines, pet names will be Juanito, Anita, Inesita, respectively. If a personal name ends in -s, then this ending is added to the suffix of the diminutive form: Carlos - Carlitos, Dolores - Dolor esitos. Often, when forming derivative forms of personal names, the phenomenon of suppletivism occurs, as, for example, for male names - Rapspo and Re-re, Francisco and Jose, or, respectively, for female names - Pancha for the name Francisca, and Pepita for the name Josefa. Instead of the female name Dolores, the diminutive name Lola is often used, instead of Concepcion - Concha, and instead of the male name Refugio - Sisa. The biblical name Jesus, which is widespread in Spain, often has the diminutive form Chucho. Sometimes derivative pet names are formed by various truncations, for example Sunta from the female name Asuncion.

The most common male names are Alfonso, Andres, Benito, Carlos, Diego, Enrique, Felipe, Fernando, Francisco, Geronimo, Joaquin, Jose, Juan, Manuel, Miguel, Pedro, Ramon, Vicente; and female Ana, Catalina, Elena, Enriqueta, Francisca, Ines, Isabel, Josefa, Juana, Manuela, Maria. But along with them, there are also randomly created, rare names that do not have a clear etymology, such as Anilu, Chamito, Maruchi, Coquis.

Traditions in the use of names

Under the influence of the French language, the particle de appeared in the Spanish anthroponymic model, attaching a personal name to geographical name, from which the surname was subsequently formed. But in French, as you know, the presence of this particle in the surname was a sign of noble origin, high social status; in Spanish surnames, it has a purely official meaning, for example: Ferdinandez de Cordoba, that is, Ferdinand from Cordoba.

When referring to close friends, relatives and children in Spanish, the 2nd person personal pronoun tu "you" is used. The usual form of polite address Vuestra merced "Your Grace", most often abbreviated verbally - Usted (plural - Ustedes), and expressed even more briefly in writing - V, Vd for the singular and Vs, Vv, Vds for the plural.

The forms of polite address to strangers are Don (in the letter - Dn, D), Senor (abbreviation - Sr) and Excelencia (in the letter - Exca) - in relation to men and Dona (in the letter - Dn, Da), Senora (on letter - Sra) -in relation to women. A young girl is addressed using the word senorita (in writing - Srita, Sta), and a young man - senorito. Each of these words has the meaning of "master" or "lady" respectively.

The most ancient of all the words used for polite address is Don, whose etymology goes back to the Latin dominus "master", "master". Initially, this word was used in the sense of a royal title, and then began to indicate aristocratic origin. Currently, such an appeal is used to express respect and courtesy, and in combination only with a personal, and not with a family name (Don Pedro); this also applies to the corresponding feminine form. The word senor comes from the Latin word senior (from the Latin senex " an old man"). Appeals senor, senora can be combined with the full name, and only with the surname, but they are never used with only one personal name. In the meaning of "sir" the word caballero also appears, originally meaning "horseman", "knight". When using forms of polite address, it matters whether the address is direct (Senor Varas) or indirect, since in the latter case the definite article El Senor Varas is needed.
If the surname follows the title, then the title is preceded by the definite article - El General Weyler.

The change in the social structure of Cuba influenced the forms of addressing Cubans to each other: the words Senor, Don are no longer used. In Cuba, such forms of polite address as Sotrapego "comrade" are widely used in relation to a woman - Sotrapega. These addresses are in preposition to an individual name or to a surname, or even before a rank.

There are many Latin, Greek, Arabic words in Spanish. Consequently, this is reflected in the Spanish names as well.

So, most male and female Spanish names were borrowed from Latin, Greek, Germanic, Arabic and Hebrew sources. An important role was played by the Roman Catholic Church, because according to Catholic canons, the choice of a name is made from the names of saints from the church calendar.

Starting from the 30s of the 20th century, the practice of naming names associated with symbolic images (female names: Concepcion "knowledge", Libertad "freedom"), with the names of precious stones (Diamante "diamond", Perlas "pearl ”), flowers (Rosa “rose”, Flora “vegetation”), the names of literary characters.

Currently, the list of Spanish names includes primarily the names of the Romance languages: English (Milton, Gladis), French (Josette, Yvonne), Italian (Italo, Menotti), etc.

The most common male names are: Alfonso, Andres, Benito, Carlos, Diego, Enrique, Felipe, Fernando, Francisco, Geronimo, Joaquin, Jose, Juan, Manuel, Miguel, Pedro, Ramon, Vicente; and from female, such names as Ana, Catalina, Elena, Enriqueta, Francisca, Ines, Isabel, Josefa, Juana, Manuela, Maria. But there are also rare names, such as Anilu, Chamito, Maruchi, Coquis, etc.

Alas, I don’t know rare and beautiful ones, but I will list those that I remember, they may come in handy ...
Aurelia, Soledad, Esperanza, Dolores, Felicidad, Gracia, Maria Luis, Paquita, Siomara, Yesenia, Carmen, Pilar, Charo, Veronica, Aurora, Eva...
And the men... Angel, Alejandro, Francisco, Rodrigo, Julio, Carlos, Miguel Angel, Javier, Jesus, Luis, Diego, Blas, Vicente...

Natalya Krasnova

Paula (Spanish: Paula)
Veronica (Spanish: Verónica) - Veronica
Barbara (Spanish Barbara) - Barbara
Catalina (Spanish Catalina) - Catherine
Daniel (Spanish Daniel) - Daniel.
Thomas (Spanish Tomás) - Thomas.
Adan (Spanish Adan) - Adam.
Jaime (Spanish Jaime) - Jacob.
Elias (Spanish Elías) - Ilya.
Spanish names and surnames.

Basta

Aaron - high mountain
Abrehan - father of the multitude
Abraham - the father of the multitude
Agustin - venerable
Agepeto - beloved
Agepito - favorite
Adan - wind
Adolfo - noble wolf
Adrian - from Hadria
Adelberto - bright nobility
Alberto - bright nobility
Alvaro - guard of all
Alyo - defender
Alejandro - protector of humanity
Alonso - noble and ready
Alfonso - noble and ready
Alfredo - elf meeting
Aleno - generous
Aleriko - omnipotent, ruler of all
Amadis - loves God
Amado - favorite
Ambrosio - immortal
Amidayo - demigod
Amilcar - friend
Amenkayo ​​- love
Anbessa - lion
Andres - man, warrior
Anibal - grace
Anselmo - protection of god
Antonio is invaluable
Anzleto - called
Anastas - recovery
Apolinar - destroyer
Armando is a brave, hardy person
Arsenio - mature
Arturo - from the legend of King Arthur
Asdrubel - helps
Atilio - Atilius
Augusto - venerable
Aureliano - golden
Aurelio - golden
Basilio is king
Baldomero - famous
Balduino - brave friend
Bartholome - son of Talmay
Bautista - Baptist
Beltran - bright raven
Benigno - kind
Benito - blessed
Berengar - the spear of the bearAbigail - the joy of the father
Agatha is good
Agota - good
Agueda - good
Adelaide - noble view
Adeline - noble
Adelita - noble
Adonsia - sweet
Adora - adorable
Adoria - adorable
Adoration - adored
Adriana - from Hadria
Adeline - noble
Aina - benefit, grace
Alejandra - protector of mankind
Alicia - noble kind
Alita - noble
Allods - foreign wealth
Almudena - city
Alondra - protector of humanity
Alba - dawn
Alta - high
Ampero - protection, shelter
Ameda - beloved
Amarenta - permanent, non-disappearing
Ana - benefit, grace
Anankiekion - announced
Angelita - little angel, messenger
Angela - angel, messenger
Angelica - angelic
Anita - usefulness, grace
Antia - invaluable
Antonitta - invaluable
Antonia - invaluable
Arecels - the altar of heaven
Ariedna - completely pure
Arcelia - altar of heaven
Araceli - the altar of heaven
Arecelis - the altar of heaven
Asucena - Lily of the Madonna
Askenkion - rise
Assampkayo - hypothesized
Asuncion - supposed
Beatrice - Traveler
Belem - the house of bread
Benigna - kind
Benita - blessed
Berengaria - bear's spear
Bernardita - as brave as a bear
Bethenia - home of the fig tree
Bibiana - live
Binvenida - welcome
Blanca - white
Bonita - Pretty
Brunilda - armored woman - warrior
Basilia - Queen
Valencia - power
Veronica - bringing victory
Visitacion - visited
Gertrudis - the power of the spear
Grekila - pleasing, pleasant
Grekiena - pleasing, pleasant
Gracia - pleasing, pleasant
Deborah - bee
Deifilia - daughter of god
Delphine - a woman from Delphi
Jacinta - hyacinth flower
Jesus - god - saved

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid are mystics, experts in esotericism and occultism, authors of 14 books.

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Spanish names

Spanish male names and their meaning

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Spanish names. Spanish male names and their meaning

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

The result of this was cases when they began to register girls under names like Marisabel, and boys - Luis Alberto. Now this trend is already on the decline, as is the popularity of Mexican TV shows. However, Spanish names continue to be of great interest today.

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

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

According to Spanish law, a person can have two names and two surnames in their 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 the first name after his father and the second name after his paternal grandfather. The eldest daughter, respectively, the names of the mother and grandmother on the maternal side.

Main source of names

In Spain, the main source of names are Catholic saints. There are few unusual nicknames in this country, since Spain has a rather strict registration law. For example, the authorities recently denied citizenship to a Colombian woman on the grounds that her name (Darling Velez) was too unusual to determine its gender.

unusual cases

There are no such restrictions in Latin America, where the imagination of parents can work freely. Sometimes it gives rise to wondrous combinations, for example, Hitler Eufemio Majora and Taj Mahal Sanchez. And the terrorist from Venezuela, Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as 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 in this way to perpetuate the name of the idol. Another Venezuelan was nicknamed Mao Brezner Pino Delgado. The word "Brezner" is an attempt to reproduce the name of another famous person, Brezhnev.

However, such names are still rare exceptions. The hit parade in the Spanish-speaking world has been led 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 and others are quite popular Spanish male names. However, many Hispanic 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 they are called Dolores, Mercedes, Angeles, which sounds rather strange in a literal translation for our ear: "sorrow" (precisely in plural), "mercies", "angels". These names actually come from the titles of the Mother of God, which are accepted among Catholics. The three options we have listed are far from full list. This also includes Mary, in everyday life called simply Ananciacion, 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 called Maria de Montserrat (full name is even longer) in honor of Maria 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 diminutives 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: Concepción - Conchita, or, for example, Guadalupe - Lupilla or Lupita. Sometimes truncated forms of names are used: Teresa - Tere, Gabriel - Gabri or Gaby.

Data from the Institute for National Statistics

The Institute for National Statistics has created a special section listing the 100 most common baby names in Spain by year since 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 leader was Lucia.

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

Names that are misleading

Many Spanish male names and surnames are misleading. So, for example, the name Chucho, which is not quite harmonious for us, has full form Jesus (or otherwise Jesus). Pancho is a diminutive of Francisco. Lalo - from Eduardo. Say it doesn't look like it? But even the 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 the full name and the pet name. For example, Francisco may be called Pancho, Curro or Paco at home.

Different countries - different features.

Names that can be either feminine or masculine

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

Rosario

With the name Rosario, a very funny situation. 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 the Rosary, and the girl is called Maria del Rosario.

Spanish surnames

Let's talk a little about Spanish surnames. The inhabitants of Spain have two of them: maternal and paternal. The last surname is placed in front. Only she, without the mother, 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 main surname of the father is inherited. However, in some cases (mainly in noble families and among the Basques), the maternal surnames of the parents can also be transmitted. There is a tradition in some regions of the country to add the name of the area in which the bearer of a particular surname or his ancestors was born. However, it exists only as a local feature.

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

Is originality encouraged?

So, we examined what names the Spaniards give to their children. At the same time, they very rarely deviate from the calendar, in which Spanish male names are indicated. The list also includes women, which can be called a child. Only a small number of names are present in the Catholic calendar, which could be considered unusual. The Spanish authorities are very disapproving of encroachments towards originality. Quite recently, it was forbidden by law to enter diminutive forms of a name in official documents. However, there is currently no such restriction. The main thing is that the name testifies unambiguously about the gender of the one to whom it indicates, and at the same time sounds decent. This practice, however, has not yet been widely adopted.

Spanish names for men in English or Russian sound a little different. The same applies to female names. For example, Rosario sounds unusual for us as woman's name. I would like to say Rosaria. Now that you know some of the peculiarities of Spanish names, you can avoid these mistakes.