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 eldest daughter- mother's name and maternal grandmother's name.
Schroeder. As you can see from this list, most surnames in Germany denote or are related to a profession. And you need to take into account its origin. Many of them are located between the 13th century and by that time the cities and administrations began to grow greatly, so that there were no longer enough names and people began to be named.
Other surnames in Germany refer to the given name, as may be the case with Herrmann or Hartmann, which were added to the father's name and then to the son's. So, for example, Friedrich became Friedrich Hartmann to distinguish him from the other Friedrich. In Germany there are also surnames that refer to ancestry or descent. What can be done, for example, from the Bamberger family, since Bamberg is a city in the Bavaria region.
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.
On the other hand, there are German surnames that are associated with a house or house, as this could be the case with the Bachmanns, for example. Probably their origin is that they lived near "Bach". Perhaps the ancestors who bore this surname were related to the color of their hair. There you can access 50 titles German surnames, for a total of up to 1000 records, taking into account all possible variations of the same surname. You can also do your own personalized search and discover with it how they came to be, as they spread, and from Turkish or Italian origins, for example.
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 this case turned out to be unsuccessful attempt reproduce the name Brezhnev. ( What's in a name? In Venezuela, just about anything)
Who doesn't have a name with a friend or acquaintance? Even though it's not a family, it's common to match someone with a last name, first name, or both. As in most daily activities, parents also follow fashion in this naming. Every year, many parents match the name at the time, according to the pattern, and although they are traditional, the most commonly used, they lose some familiar habits from time to time. Recently, the National Institute of Statistics published an update of the most common names in Spain.
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 appendage 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).
As a curiosity, it seems that it is still quite common to call children the patron or patron of a town or city, and less common to continue to call children parents and grandparents, given the number of names such as Tiburcio or Aureliana.
What is the most common male name?
Daniel is the preferred name of parents for their children, followed by the names Hugo, Alejandro and Pablo. On the other hand, for newborn girls, the most common names are Lucia and Maria, Paula and Daniela. In this case we refer to full names, in which we will not include compound names. The winner in this case is none other than “Antonio”.
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).What is the most common female surname?
Jose, Manuel and Francisco follow him. In the case of women, and also taking into account the full name, the winner is Maria Carmen, a name that we find in 28, 0 women each. A list of the 20 most common female names would look like this. As for the names by province, we consider them to be the usual first on the list, since it could not be otherwise. Although, as a curiosity, we highlight that in Ceuta and Melilla the most common name is in Mohamed, Jordi in Gerona and Michele in Guipuzcoa. According to the study, the names Pau and Marca are also very common in Catalonia.
IN real life the owners of these pious names are simply called 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.
What are the 20 most common surnames in Spain?
And in the case of women, they emphasize Fatima, Africa, Malik or Fadma. Marie Carmen and Antonio are the most common names in Spain. For example, in Bulgaria the most common name is in Vita and in France, Philip. There is no one in Spain who calls himself Calatanyazor.
And others may soon follow their destiny. He was surprised to discover that only 24 people survived Quiran and 28 seconds. “But it’s just my families.” Surnames that are more likely to disappear are those that come from rare geographical names, names of people and rare nicknames, and foreigners - for example, Italians or Flemings, of which only one or a few speakers were created in Spain.
Pancho, Chucho and Conchita
The Spaniards are great masters at forming diminutive 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 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.
Garcia, Gonzalez, Rodriguez, Fernandez and Lopez are the most common surnames. More than 8.5 million people are born with one of the last 10 most common names. If you expand the list to the top 100, this figure reaches 17.6 million People: 38 percent of the population living in the country.
However, for history academic Jaime de Salazar and Ahi, numerator and former director of the Royal Mathematical Academy of Heraldry and Genealogy, a distinction needs to be made. Surnames are not extinguished, but lines, families. Anyone can take a surname as long as they can somehow motivate it.
However, not everything is so simple. Sometimes recognizing the connection between a diminutive and full name it is generally impossible to hear: 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 form, 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).
And this looks like an example for the Spaniards Fitz-James Stewart. They are on the verge of extinction, except for Cayetana, who is killed several years ago because she has two nephews, one is one and the other is only daughters. However, the surname is not extinguished because Carlos de Alba took his mother's name and has sons.
The same thing happened to the descendants of Christopher Columbus, a lineage that was extinguished in his great-grandchildren, but whose surname survived thanks to the maternal surname being restored first. There is not a single figure by which it is believed that a surname can be forgotten, although experts place it in several hundred people.
The situation is complicated by the fact that different names can 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 names).
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, ChuimonchiOf course, the most sonorous names will probably be kept, he recognizes Salazar and Achu, because, after all, his goal is to distinguish people. “The extinction of a surname today is very difficult, almost impossible, whereas with lines the opposite happens.” This is why the congregation proposed to provide free education. Without an excuse, there are 80 more people. There are many people who choose to add a clause to a surname or create a new compound to distinguish themselves.
Do you know the new target of jihadists in Spain? Photo of mosses, which genitalitis was hidden for 3 years. In terms of names, not everything is worth it. A dispute over parents who wanted to name their child Wolf forced society to rethink what names are possible for a person and who has the right to deny parents a name.
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.
The maximum in the register is “to protect the interests of the child, if this does not contradict the dignity of the person.” He explained that parents have almost complete freedom, although “parents sometimes act in unimaginable patterns.” Parents have almost complete freedom, although parents sometimes act in unimaginable patterns.
“There are limitations because sometimes parents make unreflective or arbitrary decisions, and someone has to protect the child,” Corera says. There are three restrictions on the use of a name: no more than two simple names or a compound name, cannot lead to confusion, and cannot be contrary to the dignity of the person.
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 main character 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...”.
You cannot put more than two simple names or one full name because it is believed that a string of names does not provide any benefit since the name is what identifies us within society. “The canonical names can be put however they want, but in civil terms there are just two simple names or one compound,” Corera explains.
Most names that are not allowed are often prohibited due to their negative connotations, such as Cain, Judas or Joe. Another case is Paloma, which is allowed for women, but Palomo has connotations. Other names not accepted in this case for women are Marcel or Ico.
In fact, the soap character's name was really Rosario, not Rosaria. Word rosario in Spanish it is masculine and denotes the rosary with which a special prayer is read to the Virgin Mary, also called Rosario(in Russian - Rosary). Catholics even have a separate holiday of the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary (Spanish. Maria del Rosario).
According to a Registration Law expert, two brothers cannot be named the same as “the name is individualized within the family.” A surname cannot be a given name. Lobo's case was not allowed to be a common surname and misleading. Thus, names of capitals or fetuses are not valid as given names when they are also used as surnames. It is also impossible to name a child with a famous name such as Stalin, Marx or Lenin; nor with a full name, as in the case of Ana Karenina.
Thus, strong surnames may call their daughter Dolores; or Becker may name his son Gustavo Adolfo. “The name itself is freely chosen and is the right of all people, according to the Declaration of Human Rights,” explained an expert in the field of registration.
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 related to masculine. And, accordingly, the diminutive forms of these names are also formed in a “masculine” way: Charito, Charo, Coyo, Consuelito, Chelo (although there are also “feminine” forms: Consuelita, Pilarita).
Thus, names, including abbreviations, were accepted. According to Corera, “Society itself puts you in a position to choose.” For example, Alex was previously not allowed to be a girl, being an acronym for Alexander, although it can now be considered an acronym for Alejandra and Alexia.
Another case similar to Lobo is Vega, who was not allowed to be a surname, but is now accepted as a given name because it is accepted by society. Another case similar to Lobo is Vega, which was not allowed to be a surname but is now accepted as a given name because it is accepted by society, the expert said.
Most Common Spanish Names
10 most common names in Spain (whole population, 2008)
| Male names | Female names | |||
| 1 | Jose | 1 | Maria | |
| 2 | Antonio | 2 | Carmen | |
| 3 | Juan | 3 | Ana | |
| 4 | Manuel | 4 | Isabel | |
| 5 | Francisco | 5 | Dolores | |
| 6 | Louis | 6 | Pilar | |
| 7 | Miguel | 7 | Josefa | |
| 8 | Javier | 8 | Teresa | |
| 9 | Angel | 9 | Rosa | |
| 10 | Carlos | 10 | Antonia |
The most popular names among newborns (Spain, 2008)
Among them are Az, Dao, Suri, Gudisa, Jungle Flower or Teba. When a baby is born, parents have a deadline to make a name choice. This can be from 24 hours to 10 days, depending on the case. Almost all business is done from the hospital itself. A legal expert acknowledges that there are three situations in which a judge may determine a child's name. First, when there is a "child of unknown affiliation, he puts a commonly used name such as Javier or Miquel."
It’s another matter when the name is unacceptable, and after three days the parents do not give another name. Also when parents do not agree with this name. In his work at the Civil Registry of Pamplona, Martín Corera has gone through such cases and argues that the judge does not make decisions arbitrarily.
| Male names | Female names | |||
| 1 | Daniel | 1 | Lucia | |
| 2 | Alejandro | 2 | Maria | |
| 3 | Pablo | 3 | Paula | |
| 4 | David | 4 | Sara | |
| 5 | Adrian | 5 | Carla | |
| 6 | Hugo | 6 | Claudia | |
| 7 | Alvaro | 7 | Laura | |
| 8 | Javier | 8 | Marta | |
| 9 | Diego | 9 | Irene | |
| 10 |
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.
When a person has a child, the choice of name is so personal and creates such an illusion that rejecting it creates an important disappointment. According to the expert, the way to “redirect” this situation is to explain to parents why this name is unworthy and has the opportunity to appeal.
Before a case like one of Lobo's, the following questions need to be asked: is it suitable name? If so, does it respect human dignity? When you meet these two requirements, you must weigh if it could cause any harm to the child.
According to Corera, in this case the Civil Registry of Fuenlabrada acted correctly. He criticized Wolf's parents, saying that his son would be proud because they fought for the name. “Even a child turns out to be shy and hates calling himself a Wolf and may be scorned by the children of his class,” he condemned.
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 practicing Catholics; they attach great importance to the church in their lives, 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 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 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: 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 of the Immaculate Conception of the 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
- Agustín - 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 (Víctor), Victorino (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 - 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, Raúl – 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 ( Jose)
- Antonio ( Antonio)
- Juan ( Juan)
- Manuel ( Manuel)
- Francisco ( Francisco)
Among newborn babies:
- Daniel ( Daniel)
- Alejandro ( Alejandro)
- Pablo ( Pablo)
- David ( David)
- Adrian ( Adrian)
If we return to female names, then the following names are now popular among women:
- Maria ( Maria)
- Carmen ( Carmen)
- Ana ( Ana)
- Isabel ( Isabel)
- Dolores ( Dolores)
And among girls, that is, recently born children:
- Lucia ( Lucia)
- Maria ( Maria)
- Paula ( Paula)
- Sarah ( Zara)
- Carla ( Carla)
As you noticed, it is very important for Spaniards that their names are easily understood, refusing rare and unusual options, which significantly affects the reduction of the language barrier with foreign citizens.
Sometimes the connection between complete and diminutive 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, 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!