[name_f]Do[/name_f] you find the girls’ name [name_f]Una[/name_f] ridiculous? We’re not Spanish speakers, and really love the name (which we pronounce just like the word for one feminine thing in Spanish). We’re seriously considering it for our daughter, who’s due in just a few days.
Spanish is one of the most commonly spoken languages on the planet. We’d like to give our daughter a name that works well in a lot of different cultural contexts, because we’re big travelers and hope she’ll be too.
I’d like to get a sense of whether a name like [name_f]Una[/name_f] Tessaly would sound ridiculous to a Spanish speaker. Like does it make you want to say “Dos Tessalies”? I’m already anticipating nicknaming her [name_f]Una[/name_f] [name_f]Chiquita[/name_f] [name_f]Banana[/name_f], which is cute but also perhaps slightly annoying.
Or is it totally ok? Like, I’m thinking, “[name_f]Anne[/name_f]” in the typical American English pronunciation sounds just like the article “an”. As in “an apple,” “an apron,” “an alternative” etc. And when people say, “[name_m]Hi[/name_m], my name is [name_f]Anne[/name_f],” I don’t think, “An what? An asparagus?”
Of course [name_f]Anne[/name_f] isn’t spelled An. but still.
Is [name_f]Una[/name_f] for Spanish speakers like [name_f]Anne[/name_f] for American English speakers? Or is it worse? If someone introduced themselves to you as [name_f]Una[/name_f], would you think, “[name_f]Una[/name_f] que? [name_f]Una[/name_f] chiquita banana?”
(Please no opinions from those who aren’t native Spanish speakers. I just really need to hear the straight sh!t from the horse’s mouth. I am too close to delivery and this is too big a deal for me to suffer through irrelevant opinions. Sorry to be brutally honest, it’s the late-pregnancy hormones talking!)
Normally I wouldn’t answer since I am not a native Spanish speaker, though I do speak some. BUT, my husband is Filipino which is hugely influenced by Spanish culture. Most of the names used in the Philippines are Spanish… and they were under Spanish rule until very recently.
AND, I know two little girls named [name_f]Una[/name_f], though one spells it [name_f]Oona[/name_f]. They are both [name_f]Filipina[/name_f] and they are both named that because they are the eldest, or first, daughter. I don’t know anyone who is Spanish or Hispanic named [name_f]Una[/name_f], but I do know that our Spanish-speaking friends think little [name_f]Una[/name_f] (they have never met [name_f]Oona[/name_f]) is adorable.
I happen to adore the name, and would consider it myself if we didn’t already know these little girls.
One is [name_f]Una[/name_f] Marikit and the other is something like [name_f]Oona[/name_f] [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] I think, though it might be [name_f]Oona[/name_f] [name_f]Madeline[/name_f].
So sorry if my answer was irrelevant, but I thought it might help!
[name_f]Una[/name_f] Tessaly is adorable!
Joiya, thanks for the response! I think your close experience with the opinions of Spanish-speakers towards the name counts! Definitely not irrelevant. That’s really helpful.
(I was expecting responses from English-speaking teenage girls in high school Spanish classes in the US–definitely not the opinions I’m looking for, if you know what I mean. I’m too pregnant and this is too serious for such nonsense, if you know what I mean–no offense to sweet teen name-nerds everywhere.).
It doesn’t seem like it is a problem for [name_f]Oona[/name_f] [name_m]Chaplin[/name_m] (Castilla), who was born and raised in Spain. Oona Chaplin - Wikipedia
Being a Spanish speaker and being Latin@ myself and living in south [name_f]Florida[/name_f] it would seem a little odd but nothing too ridiculous. If you really love it go for it and if you still have doubts maybe consider [name_f]Uma[/name_f]? Anyways good luck! [name_m]Just[/name_m] go with whatever feels right to you.
Thanks all! And especially bedhead. If others have reactions, I’d love to hear them. We only have a few days to go and really need to decide.
An additional question: Does spelling it [name_f]Oona[/name_f] help at all? I made the point that [name_f]Anne[/name_f] sounds just like An, as in an apple, but is spelled differently.
Spanish speakers: Would you find [name_f]Oona[/name_f] more palatable/less odd than [name_f]Una[/name_f], despite the fact that they’re pronounced identically?
I majored in Spanish in college, lived in Spain and had an extended stay in Central [name_u]America[/name_u], but my first language is English so not sure if this helps. I don’t think [name_f]Una[/name_f] would be too odd. My name is pronounced close to the Spanish word for bad and nobody mentioned it. My sister in law’s first language is Spanish and her family speaks Spanish most of the time. She and my brother named their daughter [name_f]Mia[/name_f], which is “mine” in Spanish. Not quite the same as [name_f]Una[/name_f], but still. [name_f]Oona[/name_f] does help differentiate, but [name_f]Una[/name_f] might lend itself to easier pronunciation by non-English speakers.
Edit: I just remembered my SIL’s cousin has a little girl named Ella. They use the English pronunciation even when speaking Spanish but still, no confusion that I’ve witnessed.
i am not a native Spanish speaker, but my mom and her entire side of the family are Hispanic, I have been around it my whole life and while I don’t speak it fluently I still think I could be of help but anyway we actually have a little cousin named [name_f]Una[/name_f] and I always thought it was absolutely adorable and I can’t think of one person in my family who has ever made a negative remark on her name, as far as I’m concerned no one thinks it’s some crazy out there name and the only comments I remember hearing about it when she was born were positive so if you love it, go for it (-: