[name_m]Hi[/name_m], so I’m thinking about moving to Portugal from the UK. My name is [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (which I rarely use and don’t like) and the Portuguese version is [name_f]Leonor[/name_f] (which I still don’t super like). I use [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] as a nickname currently- do you think this would be useable/pronounceable/ not super weird in Portugal? I don’t particularly like it as a nn anyway so would be open to changing that. Please let me know what nicknames would normally be used for [name_f]Leonor[/name_f]. Would [name_f]Lena[/name_f] be used as a nn? I like that aha & think it could work for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. Would it be pronounced [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-nah, leh-nah, or ley-nah do you think? Also [name_f]Mariella[/name_f] is a smoosh of my first and middle names that I like. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think that would work in Portugal?
Thank you so much everyone!
[name_f]Ellie[/name_f]
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I’m not Portuguese, so I don’t know what would be used as a nickname and what wouldn’t. But, from looking at Portuguese naming data, here are some full names used there that could work as nicknames for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]:
[name_f]El[/name_f]éa
Elany
Elainy
[name_u]Elia[/name_u]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_f]Elana[/name_f]
Léonie
[name_f]Lena[/name_f] or Léna
[name_f]Lea[/name_f] or Léa
Both [name_f]Lena[/name_f] (no accent) and Léna have been used in recent years as baby names in Portugal. I’m not sure if they would be used as nicknames as well, though. [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] has been used as well, but not very often, so it may be considered odd there.
[name_m]Ol[/name_m]á, [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]!
I’m Portuguese!
First of all, I think your name is beautiful! I think [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] is useable and pronounceable in Portugal! It is very simple and short, so I don’t think you will need to find a new name. The older generations will not be able to write it right away, but almost everyone under 35 years old has had English at school or is very familiar with English thanks to the news, music, films, etc.
For [name_f]Leonor[/name_f], we use the nicknames [name_m]Leo[/name_m] (LEH-oo) or [name_f]Non[/name_f]ô (Noh-Noh). Honestly, I’m not 100% sure how to explain the pronunciations, but I hope this is right.
[name_f]Lena[/name_f] (no accent) is used as a nickname for [name_f]Helena[/name_f] and it’s pronounced Leh-nah. It may be used for Madalena as well. [name_f]Lena[/name_f] is not a common given name and it is very rare in the youngest generations. If I heard someone call the name [name_f]Lena[/name_f], I would assume that person is talking to a 40/45 years old woman (at least).
[name_f]Lina[/name_f], pronounced [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-nah, just like [name_f]Lena[/name_f] is rarely used in children nowadays. However, it is used sometimes as a nickname for [name_f]Carolina[/name_f].
[name_f]Mariella[/name_f] would also work in Portugal. It is stunning too. I think most people will spell it [name_f]Mariela[/name_f], but then they will get used to it.
In Portugal, depending on where you are going to live, you will notice that this is a very multicultural country. We have many immigrants from [name_u]Brazil[/name_u], Angola, Cape [name_f]Verde[/name_f], Spain, Mozambique, Romania, [name_f]China[/name_f], Ucraine, [name_f]India[/name_f], Nepal and Bangladesh (for example). And also many Portuguese people have lived abroad in [name_f]France[/name_f], Germany, UK, Switzerland, Belgium, [name_f]Italy[/name_f], [name_f]Canada[/name_f], [name_u]Brazil[/name_u], Angola, USA, Netherlands for a few years.
In not sure where the previous poster did the research but that information is not correct. The full names mencioned seem to be [name_m]French[/name_m] not Portuguese. Some would work ([name_f]Lea[/name_f] spelled [name_f]Lia[/name_f], [name_f]Leona[/name_f], [name_u]Elia[/name_u]), but I never meet anyone with those names.
You will also notice that everyone in Portugal has the same name (no joke). Until a few years ago, portuguese families always chose traditional (and popular) baby names. There was a list of forbidden names so parents couldn’t pick foreign names or different spellings unless they had another nationality. Most parents are still very afraid to choose something “different” but this will change sooner or later (I hope).
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps!
Please feel free to ask more questions.
what about [name_f]Norah[/name_f]?