My husband and I both speak Spanish as a second language (English being first), although our families do not. Neither of us have latino/hispanic heritage. It is likely that once we leave New Zealand we will be living in a Spanish-speaking country, although many of our friends and all of our family reside in the US.
There are a few Spanish word names that we are considering for either first or middle names. Wondering if you non-Spanish speakers (and Spanish speakers too) might offer your opinion. Too difficult? Too out there? Cute, strong, etc.?
I think you’ll have a lot of pronunciation issues with Jardin… people will probably pronounce it pretty close to [name]Jordan[/name].
I could see [name]Feliz[/name] working, maybe better as a middle name though? And I see [name]Rio[/name] as more of a boys name, probably just because of the -o ending.
You might get pronunciation problems with Bosque too. And I just don’t like the sound of Arbol as a name… but that’s just me.
I’m not sure if I’ve been any help at all, but oh well
I know it depends on what Spanish speaking country you might live in but I have a theory that countries whose culture and naming traditions are steeped in Catholicism think a majority of name words are a bad idea/absurd because at one point naming a child was serious business. I dont know that this is the case but if this is true then your child might face some teasing for having a name that’s an every day word from a culture that theyre technically is not a part of.
As for the names themselves I live in a large hispanic community and enough of them are used as place names or food products so I recognize them and can pronounce them even though I dont speak Spanish. I think Jardin and [name]Feliz[/name] work best. I dont care for Bosque or Arbol though.
I love Arbol, its such a great name! I very much like [name]Rio[/name] as well, for a boy or a girl. I think the j/h pronunciation is an issue for American English speakers at least, but that once you correct it, it’s fine and most people get it.
Bosque is going to be harder - most people will likely pronounce it bosk with 1 syllable rather than 2. [name]Feliz[/name] could work as well, after an initial correction. Most people in English-speaking places will probbaly be more familiar with the spelling [name]Felice[/name].
That is a tricky situation! I like Río for a girl a lot, and Bosque for a boy, although I think it could easily be mispronounced. Some others I thought of are
Girls: [name]Reina[/name], [name]Azul[/name], [name]Esperanza[/name], [name]Mariposa[/name]
Boys: [name]Mar[/name], [name]Azul[/name],
Obviously, I had an easier time with girls names! [name]Hope[/name] this helps
@elainelea [name]Mariposa[/name] is slang for a bad word to call gay men (it’s probably obvious) there are different variations of Spanish so I dont know if thats mainly slang used in Mexico/[name]Texas[/name] or if other Spanish speakers say it too but I wouldnt put it on a names list since [name]Ive[/name] overheard it
Bosque is a little out there but cool. I would keep it as a middle.
Arbol can come across as “herbal” when spoken in a latin accent to an English-speaker. Try it and see if you can understand my meaning.
[name]Feliz[/name] is close to “[name]Felice[/name]” or “[name]Felicia[/name].” It’s not a terrible first or last name. It has a hint of familiarity in both sound and in writing. Considering it is highly probable that you will move to Spanish-speaking country, [name]Feliz[/name] will be very recognizable.
And your family can at least appreciate how close it is to “[name]Felicia[/name].”
Jardin. To be honest, it sounds like “[name]Harden[/name]” and I don’t think that will fare well in some grown up circles. And in French, it’s pronounced “JAR-dahn” but is spelled the same way without the accent on the “i.”
This may or may not bother you when encountering a French-speaker (depending on which Spanish-speaking country you end up living in).
[name]Rio[/name] is simple yet it means something cool like river. It would make a nice first or middle name. You have a place in [name]Brazil[/name] called, “[name]Rio[/name] de Janiero” that puts it on the map for useability. Go for it.
I speak Spanish and English, and live very near the border of [name]Texas[/name] and Mexico. I can easily pronounce all the names you have chosen, however there are all just words to me. I can see how you chose these names based on meaning, but unlike most names these are just literal translations. There are a few names I have come across that you might consider: [name]Flor[/name] (flower), [name]Esperanza[/name] (hope), [name]Luna[/name] (moon), [name]Dulce[/name] (candy, sweet), and [name]Estrella[/name] (star). I really hope you find a name that works for your situation.
I agree completely. The nontraditional word name thing never took hold in Spanish-speaking countries. None of the words on your list is ever used as a first name in Spanish. You may not even be allowed to use those words as names by law! Some countries have official name lists that you have to choose from. For example, here’s a link to [name]Argentina[/name]'s list: http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/registrocivil/nombres/busqueda/buscador_nombres.php?offset=750 None of the words you suggested appears on the Civil Registry list.
If you’d like to ease your children’s assimilation into a Spanish-speaking society, I urge you to use a traditional name. There are plenty that work in both languages.
I definitely agree with this. I understand/read Spanish well but don’t speak/write fluently, and even to me these are just words. They’re very strange choices for names, and I have a feeling that they’ll get pretty weird looks in Spanish speaking countries (or even English speaking ones.) Many classic Spanish names- [name]Elena[/name], [name]Sofia[/name], [name]Mateo[/name], [name]Rafael[/name]- are used and easily pronounceable in both languages.
@ybp & thetxbelle- Yep, definitely know about the name list thing, and that word names aren’t very common in Spanish speaking countries. [name]Baby[/name] will be born and named in New Zealand, so we shouldn’t run into any legal issue with a name. We are definitely looking at first names that can be pronounced phonetically in Spanish, even if they are not Spanish names, to help our wee one with pronunciation issues later. I’m not as worried about their name fitting in culturally, since we will clearly be foreigners anyway and will likely always stand out a bit.
@amarette- I do really like [name]Luna[/name], but a good friend has a dog named [name]Luna[/name] that we love, so unfortunately I don’t think we can get past that.
@elainelea- I like [name]Mar[/name] alot. Marama (Mah-ra-ma) is also a common NZ name, it is Maori for moon.
@daisy451- Yep, I hear ya. But I have a feeling that our English name choices may also illicit some strange looks from English speakers. So maybe our tastes are just for slightly out-there names. (But hopefully not too out there!)
Again, thanks for the help. [name]May[/name] bounce some Maori word names off you guys in a few days!
A mí me gusta los nombres! [name]Feliz[/name] is great! I love [name]Paz[/name], [name]Luz[/name], [name]Perla[/name], [name]Vida[/name] for girls and [name]Cielo[/name] y Amor for boys. Río is okay to me. ”rbol and Yardin are great too. I agree with pp that a more traditional name would be better for assimilation, and I’m not sure if word/nature names have caught on in the same way. The more creative names might work best in the middle, or traditional middles to switch into in the Latin countries. No problemas with prn. [name]Beatriz[/name] is my favoritest favorite.
Girls:
[name]Feliz[/name]- The prettiest girl name on your list. I don’t see pronunciation problems for non-Spanish speakers
Jardín- Would not be pronounced properly by non-Spanish speakers, /JAR-din/, and not a particularly pretty sounding name pronounced /har-[name]DEEN[/name]/.
Río- Would most likely be mistaken for a boy by an English speaking person, but pronounceable.
Boys:
Bosque- Cool. For English speakers I see a problem with pronouncing it /[name]BOSS[/name]-k/
Arbol- Not a fan, for me it sounds very strange name
I could see [name]Feliz[/name] working because of the [name]Feliz[/name] [name]Navidad[/name] song, and everyone knows how to say [name]Rio[/name], but Jardin would be JAR-din, like [name]Jordan[/name], Bosque would be BOSSk, and Arbol would just seem strange. I like some of the other names people suggested, but [name]Rio[/name] is super cute.
I agree, imagine naming your kid tree. It doesnt work in spanish either. Actually, as before mentioned, hispanics STILL take naming seriously, which is why most of the population is named [name]Maria[/name], [name]Jose[/name] or [name]Jesus[/name] and other biblical names. I appreciate your love of the culture though, and I wouldnt tell you to convert to Catholicism. I love [name]Felicia[/name] for a girl. I would use it myself. It’s a lovely name that is easily prounounced in both languages and in both languages means happiness (coming from the word felicity in English and felicidad in Spanish.) For a boy, try [name]Alonso[/name]. I would also use it. I’m in a similar pickle because I married a mexican but my husband prefers American names! There are so many beautiful spanish names that have a great meaning and sound good in English too.
I’m having better luck with girls than boys but I hope this will help you so your son isnt named Tree! Best of luck! These are names of people that I met in Mexico so you cant go wrong!
[name]Felicia[/name]
[name]Luz[/name]
[name]Constanza[/name]
Lluvia
[name]Rosalinda[/name] (okay I didnt meet a rosa linda but it’s so pretty anyway. I did meet a linda though!)
[name]Luis[/name] (also originates in the latin meaning light)
[name]Angel[/name]
[name]Alonso[/name]
Dio ( maybe a good alternative to [name]Rio[/name]?)
[name]Even[/name] with the song [name]Feliz[/name] [name]Navidad[/name], people might pronounce it like [name]Felix[/name]-with-a-z upon first sight, especially since they might not make the song connection off the bat. Jardin would be JAR-din. [name]Rio[/name] would probably get pronounced correctly. Ultimately, all three names sound like boys names.
Bosque would get pronounced like mosque (the place of worship for followers of Islam). Arbol might get pronounced correctly.
If you’re ever going to live in a Spanish speaking country, I would definitely avoid all of these names and pick a beautiful Spanish name. There are a ton of beautiful Spanish names and quite a few have already been mentioned.
Uh… I don’t like any of them. There are SO many Spanish word names that are actually names. If you plan on living somewhere Spanish-speaking, I’d use something that would help then, and not get them laughed at, or something that would give them problems, legally, in an other country. Something to look in to. I teach a girl named Allende and all the teachers comment about how “super weird” her name is (not to her face) even though she’s 14 years old and has been going to the school since she was 5 and all the teachers really should be used to it now.
Plus, río and jardín as masculine words. Not okay, in my opinion. If I were you, I’d keep looking. I don’t think you have to pick something super traditional, but picking something that respects the laws of both the country you plan on living in, and the rules of the language itself would be the best route.
I kind of like [name]Feliz[/name] and Bosque as middle names… they have nice meanings and I think they would work as MNs. I agree that if you live in a heavily Spanish-speaking area/country that doesn’t really accept word names as actual names like this, that it might not be a great idea, but in [name]America[/name], I think something like [name]Arabella[/name] [name]Feliz[/name] or [name]Sebastian[/name] Bosque or something would be really cool.
[name]Poppy[/name]