We are a Caucasian-American family but my husband spent a few years living in Mexico, and we’d like to honor that part of our adopted culture. We’re looking for something Hispanic that will be easy for our all-English family to handle.
Everyone was so helpful when I asked my general question about international naming, so I thought I’d gather some thoughts on our current list!
These all have something handsome to recommend them, but other than [name]Elian[/name] to me they sound more Italian or international than Mexican/Hispanic. [name]Marco[/name] certainly has some Spanish language use, [name]Mateo[/name] probably does too. For [name]Emmanuel[/name], I really like that name, but I think [name]Manuel[/name] is the more common Spanish form. [name]Elian[/name] certainly feels Spanish and is very handsome but for me is forever tied to [name]Elian[/name] Gonzalez.
[name]Marco[/name]'s my favorite of those you list, both generally and for definitely feeling Spanish language.
A few Spanish language names I find relatively accessible for other cultural backgrounds are
[name]Antonio[/name]
[name]Diego[/name]
[name]Ezequiel[/name] (this is the Spanish spelling, as [name]Ezekiel[/name] is becoming more common it might look “odd”)
[name]Isaias[/name] (take on [name]Isaiah[/name])
[name]Joaquin[/name]
[name]Luis[/name]
[name]Mauricio[/name]
[name]Miguel[/name]
[name]Zacarias[/name] (take on [name]Zachary[/name])
And names with international feel that I know get Spanish language use (although usually a different prn/Spelling than the English) are
My son is Hispanic–his name is [name]Francisco[/name], and we call him [name]Cisco[/name]. I love his name! My friend has a son named [name]Mateo[/name] [name]Santiago[/name]. Other favorites of mine are [name]Emilio[/name] and [name]Antonio[/name]. Good luck!
My sister is white and married to a Colombian so all her names work in either culture. She has: [name]Ana[/name], [name]Elena[/name], [name]Isabel[/name], [name]Sebastian[/name], [name]Nicolas[/name]. She wants a [name]Lorenzo[/name] next. Her hubby is [name]Leonardo[/name] and his dad is [name]Orlando[/name] (what all the rest of us call [name]Nicolas[/name] because we like it better). Her next girl will be [name]Sofia[/name]. All classic, middle-class Latino names.
My favorite Hispanic name is [name]Reuben[/name]. [name]LOVE[/name] IT.
From your list, i think [name]Marco[/name] and [name]Emanuel[/name] seem like the best choices - they convey what you want without seeming misleading or too-foreign. I like the suggestions of [name]Sebastian[/name], [name]Orlando[/name], [name]Leo[/name]. Also, what do you think of
From your list I definitely prefer [name]Marco[/name]. Also, someone’s suggestion of [name]Francisco[/name] and calling him [name]Cisco[/name] gets my vote!
I adore [name]Marco[/name]! It sounds so handsome. [name]Marco[/name] [name]Emmanuel[/name] is fantastic. I love the meaning of [name]Emmanuel[/name] and it flows great with [name]Marco[/name].
Unfortunately, I don’t have my own suggestions to give. I just wanted to say that I love the suggestions of [name]Marco[/name], [name]Mateo[/name] and [name]Diego[/name]. I once taught a little boy named [name]Diego[/name], and that association gives me wonderful feelings on the name.
It’s hard for me to say how easy those would be for a non-spanish speaker, since it’s my first language, but from my experience those are all doable. [name]Javier[/name] and [name]Joaquin[/name] might be the most challenging because of the J, but I know a [name]Javier[/name] and [name]Joaquin[/name] who live in the US and don’t seem to have issues. They go by [name]Javi[/name] (HA-vee) and [name]Quin[/name] (keen).
I love the name [name]Marco[/name]! I think it works great in both languages.
My favorite names common in Spanish-speaking countries are [name]Raul[/name], [name]Rafael[/name] ([name]Rafa[/name] is a fun and traditional nn), and [name]Alejandro[/name] (with the adorable nn [name]Alejo[/name]).
