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 is quite serious about this issue to avoid a lot of confusion. 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).

The Spaniards are believing Catholics, they give great importance to the church in their lives, 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 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, simple and classic names with complex meanings remain at the peak of popularity, 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
• Ariadna (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 Immaculate Conception Virgin Mary (Inmaculada Conception)
• 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 (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 (Fausto) - a 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 Spaniards that their names are easily perceived, refusing rare and unusual variants, which significantly affects the reduction of the language barrier with foreign citizens.

Sometimes it is almost impossible to determine by ear the connection between the full and diminutive names: for example, the houses of 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!

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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, Aran). 95% of believers are Catholics.

The website of the Institute for 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 the name of the male was the name Daniel. In girls, the most common Lucia. The statistics on the website of the Institute are presented in such a way that you can find out popular names both on a national scale and for each administrative community of the country plus for two autonomous cities. Of interest are also data on the top 10 names of people from different countries Europe, Asia, Africa, America.

The website of the Institute has a lot of other interesting material on the history of choosing names in Spain and on the modern naming system. So, there is a list of names that occur 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 before Spanish linguists if they set themselves the task of compiling etymological dictionary, which includes all of these names. I'm not talking about the task of covering names with a lower frequency (less than 20) with such a dictionary. However, the number of different, unique names is somewhat less, since Spanish statistics consider not only single names, but also combinations of names like Maria Carmen as independent ones.

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

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

For those men who were born before 1930, in the 30s and 40s, the male name is most often found Jose. Those born in the 50s and 60s most often bear the name Antonio. Most common in those born in the 70s and 80s - David. In the 90s and after 2000, the name was most often given Alejandro. As you can see, the name is usually in the lead for two decades.

As for female names, here the clip of leading names 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 most often gave double name Maria Carmen. In the 80s, the leader was the name Laura. In the 90s and after 2000 - again Maria.

Here are the 25 most common male and female names born in 2014. Links to pages with data for some earlier years are in the drop-down list to the right of the heading in front of the text (see Select a year). More complete picture each visitor to this page can find it on the El Instituto Nacional de Estadística website (link at the end of the page).

Boys names

In brackets - Russian spelling

Place	Name	Number of names
1	Hugo (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 (David)	3 376
8	Martin (Martin)	3 181
9	Mario (Mario)	3 067
10	Diego (Diego)	3 000
11	Javier (Javier)	2 531
12	Manuel (Manuel)	2 475
13	Lucas (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 (Jorge)	1 873
24	Carlos (Carlos)	1 772
25	Miguel (Miguel)	1 713

Girls names

In brackets - Russian spelling

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

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Spanish names

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Spanish names. Spanish male names and their meaning

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Spanish names

According to Spanish law, no more than two names and two surnames can be recorded in a person's 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 the father, and the second in honor of the paternal grandfather, and eldest daughter- mother's name and maternal grandmother's name.

The main source of names in Spain is the Catholic saints. There are few unusual names, because Spanish registration law is quite harsh: not so long ago, the Spanish authorities refused to obtain citizenship for a certain Colombian 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 the imagination of the parents can work unhindered. Sometimes this fantasy gives rise to absolutely marvelous combinations, like the 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 staunch communist and decided to perpetuate the name of his idol, so to speak, in triplicate. Another unfortunate Venezuelan received the magnificent name Mao Brezner Pino Delgado, and "Brezner" in this case turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt to reproduce the name Brezhnev. ( 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 is headed by the usual classic names: Juan, Diego, Carmen, Daniel, Camila, Alejandro and, of course, Maria.

Not just Mary

For obvious reasons, this name is one of the most common in Spain. It is given to both girls and boys (the latter - as a appendage to the male name: José Maria, Fernando Maria). However, many Spanish and Latin American Marys are not just Marys: in their documents they may have 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 rather strange to our ears: "mercy" (that's right, in plural), "angels", "sorrows". In fact, these names come from various titles of the Mother of God adopted by Catholics: Maria de las Mercedes(Mary the Merciful, lit. "Mary of Mercies"), Maria de los Dolores(Mary the Sorrowful, lit. "Mary of Sorrows"), María la Reina de los Angeles(Mary is the queen of angels).

Here is a short list of such names:

Maria del Amparo - Mary the Protectress, Mary the Protector
Maria de la Anunciacion - Mary of the Annunciation (from Spanish Anunciación - Annunciation)
Maria de la Luz - Holy Mary (lit. "Mary of Light")
Maria de los Milagros - Mary the Wonderworking (lit. "Mary of Miracles")
Maria de la Piedad - Maria Honored
Maria del Socorro - Maria Helping
Maria de la Cruz - Mary at the Cross
Maria del Consuelo- Mary the Comforter
Maria de la salud - letters. "Mary Health"
Maria del Pilar - letters. "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 Nuestra Senora del Pilar Cathedral was built on this site).

In real life, the owners of these pious names are 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 a Spaniard, but a Catalan) is actually called Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballe y Folk, and was named after Maria 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 of education pet names. The easiest way is to add diminutive suffixes to the name: Gabriel - Gabrielito, Fidel - Fidelito, Juana - Juanita. If the name is too long, then the main part "breaks away" from it, and then the same suffix comes into play: 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 generally impossible to recognize the connection between a diminutive and full name by ear: for example, little Francisco at home can be called Pancho, Paco or Curro, Eduardo - Lalo, Alfonso - Honcho, Anunciasion - 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 Alexander-Aleksash-Sasha-Sashura-Shura series in your mind, you need to know Russian 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:

José Maria - Chema
Jose Angel - Chanhel
Juan Carlos - Juanca, Juancar, Juanca
Maria Luis - Marisa
Jesus Ramon - Jesusra, Hera, Herra, Chuymoncho, Chuymonchi

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

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

Boy or girl?

Once upon a time, at the dawn of the popularity of soap operas, our television broadcast the Venezuelan series "Cruel World", the name of the main character of which our viewers at first heard as Rosaria. A little later it turned out that her name is Rosari O , and diminutively - Charita. Then again it turned out that it was not Charita, but Charito, but our viewers, who had already gotten used to Conchita and Estersite, continued to call her "in the feminine" - Charita. So they said, retelling each other the next series: "And José Manuel kissed Charita yesterday ...".

In fact, the soap heroine was actually called Rosario, not Rosaria. Word Rosario is masculine in Spanish and refers to the rosary, which is used to read a special prayer to the Virgin Mary, which is also called Rosario(in Russian - Rosary). Catholics even have a separate feast of the Virgin Mary, the Queen of the Rosary (Spanish. Maria del Rosario).

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

Most Common Spanish Names

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

The most popular names among newborns (Spain, 2008)

The most popular names among newborns (Mexico, 2009)

Senor Garcia or Senor Lorca?

And finally, let's talk a little about Spanish surnames. Spaniards have two surnames: paternal and maternal. In this case, the paternal surname ( appellido paterno) is placed before the parent ( apellido materno): Federico Garcia Lorca (father - Federico Garcia Rodriguez, mother - Vicenta Lorca Romero). In official address, only the paternal surname is used: accordingly, contemporaries called the Spanish poet Senor Garcia, 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 - Picasso. The fact is that there are no less Ruizovs in Spain than Ivanovs in Russia, but the surname Picasso is much less common and sounds much more "individual").

By inheritance, only the main surname of the father is usually transmitted, but in some cases (usually in noble families, as well as among the Basques), the maternal surnames of the parents are also transmitted to children (in fact, the surnames of grandmothers on both sides).

In some areas, there is a tradition to add to the surname the name of the area where the bearer of this surname or his ancestors was 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. In this case, the particle "de" is not an indicator of noble origin, as in France, but simply means that the ancestors of our mother Juan Antonio came from a town or village called San José.

Spanish names consist of three main elements: a personal name (Spanish. nombre ) and two surnames (Spanish. appellido ). A feature of the structure of the Spanish name is the presence of two surnames at once: father (Spanish. appellido paterno or primer appellido ) and mother (Spanish. apellido materno or segundo appellido ). The choice of personal names in Spanish-speaking countries is usually determined by church and family traditions.

From Wikipedia:

In addition to the name received from the parents, the Spaniards bear the names received at baptism from the baptizing priest and godparents. Most of the names received by the Spaniard are not used, but only one or two names are used, for example, current king of Spain five personal names- Juan Carlos Alfonso Maria Victor (Spanish) Juan Carlos Alfonso Ví ctor Marí a ), but all his life he uses only two of them - Juan Carlos.

According to Spanish law, no more than two names and two surnames can be recorded in a person's 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 the father, and the second in honor of the paternal grandfather, and the eldest daughter is given the name of the mother and the name of the maternal grandmother.

The main source of names in Spain is the Catholic saints. There are few unusual names, because the Spanish registration law is quite harsh: not so long ago, the Spanish authorities refused to obtain citizenship of a certain Colombian named Darling Velez on the grounds that her name is too unusual and it is impossible to determine the gender of its bearer from it.

In Latin America, there are no such restrictions, and the imagination of parents can work freely. Sometimes this fantasy gives rise to absolutely marvelous combinations, like Taj Mahal Sanchez, Elvis Presley Gomez Morillo and even Hitler Eufemio Majora. And the famous Venezuelan terrorist Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez nicknamed Carlos the Jackal, there were two brothers whose names were ... Vladimir and Lenin Ramirez Sanchez.

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

Simply 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 a appendage to the male name: Jose Maria, Fernando Maria). However, many Spanish and Latin American Marys are not just Marys: in their documents they may have 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 rather strange to our ears: “mercies” (that's right, in the plural), “angels”, “sorrows”. In fact, these names come from various titles of the Mother of God adopted by Catholics: Marí a de las Mercedes(Mary the Merciful, lit. "Mary of Mercies"), Marí a de los Dolores(Mary the Sorrowful, lit. "Mary of Sorrows"), Marí a la Reina de los Á ngeles(Mary is the queen of angels).

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(which turns out to be Catalan, on closer inspection of the name) is actually called Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé y Folk, and named it in honor of Mary of Montserrat, revered in Catalonia, a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary from a monastery on Mount Montserrat.

Pancho, Honcho and Lupita.

The Spaniards are great masters of diminutive names. The easiest way is to add diminutive suffixes to the name: Gabriel - Gabriel litho, Fidel - Fide litho, Juana - Juan ita. If the name is too long, then the main part “breaks away” from it, and then the same suffix comes into play: Concepción - Conchita, Guadalupe - Lupita and Lupilla. Sometimes truncated forms of names are used: Gabriel - Gaby or Gabri, Teresa - Tere. My beloved Penelope Cruz is simply called by relatives "Pe".

However, not everything is so simple. Sometimes it is generally impossible to recognize the connection between the diminutive and full name by ear: for example, little Francisco at home can be called Pancho, Paco or Curro, Eduardo - Lalo, Alfonso - Honcho, Annunciation - Chon or Chonita, Jesus - Chucho, Chui or Chus. 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:

José Maria - Chema
Jose Angel – Chanhel
Juan Carlos - Juanca, Juancar, Juanqui
Maria Luis - Marisa
Jesus Ramon - Jesusra, Hera, Herra, Chuymoncho, Chuymonchi

Man or woman?

Once upon a time, at the dawn of the popularity of soap operas, our television broadcast the Venezuelan series "Cruel World", the name of the main character of which our viewers at first heard as Rosaria. A little later it turned out that her name is Rosari O , and diminutively - Charita. Then again it turned out that it was not Charita, but Charit O, but our viewers, who had already become accustomed to Conchita and Estersite, continued to call her "in the feminine" - Charita. So they said, retelling each other the next series: “And Jose Manuel kissed Charita yesterday ...”.

In fact, the soap heroine was really named Rosario and not the Rosaria. Word Rosario in spanish language masculine and denotes a rosary, on which a special prayer to the Virgin Mary is read, which is also called Rosario(in Russian - Rosary). Catholics even have a separate feast of the Virgin Mary, the Queen of the Rosary (Spanish. Maria del Rosario).

In Spanish-speaking countries, the name Rosario is very popular, it is given to both girls and boys, but traditionally it is considered feminine. And it's not the only female name - "hermaphrodite": names Amparo, Socorro, Pilar, Sol, Consuelo derived from spanish words amparo, socorro, pilar, sol, Consuelo grammatically masculine. And, accordingly, the diminutive forms of these names are also formed in the "male" way: Charito, Charo, Coyo, Consuelito, Chelo (although there are also "female" forms: Consuelita, Pilarita).

The most common Spanish names.

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

Features of the Spanish Surname.

And finally, let's talk a little about Spanish surnames. Spaniards have two surnames: paternal and maternal. In this case, as already mentioned, the paternal surname ( appellido Paterno ) is placed before the parent ( appellido materno ): Federico Garcia Lorca (father - Federico Garcia Rodriguez, mother - Vicenta Lorca Romero). At only the paternal surname is used in official address: accordingly, contemporaries called the Spanish poet Senor Garcia, and not Senor Lorca.

However, 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 - Picasso. The fact is that there are no less Ruizovs in Spain than there are Ivanovs in Russia, but the name Picasso is much less common and sounds much more “individual”.

By inheritance, only the main surname of the father is usually transmitted, but in some cases (as a rule, in noble families, as well as among the Basques), the maternal surnames of the parents are also transmitted to the children (in fact, the surnames of grandmothers on both sides).

In some areas, there is a tradition to add to the surname the name of the area where the bearer of this surname or his ancestors was 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. In this case, the particle "de" is not an indicator of noble birth, as in France, but simply means that ancestors mother of our Juan Antonio were from a town or village called San José.

Sometimes paternal and maternal surnames are separated by a particle "and": Francisco de Goya y Lusientes, José Ortega y Gasset. In Russian transcription, such surnames are usually written with a hyphen, although in the original they are usually written without separating characters: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, José Ortega y gasset.

When married, Spanish women do not change their surname, but simply add the husband's surname to the apellido paterno: for example, Laura Riario Martinez, having married a man named Marquez, may sign Laura Riario de Marquez or Laura Riario, señora Marquez.

The most common Spanish surnames.

10 most common surnames in Spain