I like a lot of your list. My husband is Hispanic and our children have Spanish names that have one pronunciation in English and Spanish, so I have thought about these kinds of names a lot.
[name]Leandro[/name] - We considered this for one of our kids. My family (non-Spanish speakers) felt the le-an sounded feminine, a la [name]Leanne[/name], but I would think they would say the same for [name]Leander[/name]. I think this name is very handsome.
[name]Marcelo[/name] - I suggested this name at one point, but for my husband this is a very dated name, similar to suggesting [name]Todd[/name] or [name]Kurt[/name] for a baby today, so it was nixed.
[name]Emmanuel[/name] - In Spanish you would spell it with one m. [name]Manuel[/name] is also a nice, traditional name. [name]Both[/name] give the cute nn [name]Manu[/name].
[name]Elian[/name] - As others have said, I can only think of [name]Elian[/name] González.
[name]Marco[/name] - I like this name a lot and it is very international.
[name]Mateo[/name] - This is also nice, as is [name]Mat[/name]ías.
Others you might like are [name]Lisandro[/name], [name]Mariano[/name], [name]Maximo[/name], [name]Eliseo[/name], [name]Tadeo[/name], [name]Pedro[/name], or [name]Tom[/name]ás. I like the previous suggestions of [name]Javier[/name], [name]Joaquin[/name], [name]Rafael[/name] and [name]Alejandro[/name]. And I tried to suggest [name]Pascual[/name] for our first baby - I think it is so cute - but my husband thought I was nuts!
My favorite cross over names are [name]Aaron[/name], [name]Adrian[/name], and [name]Emilio[/name]. But [name]Matteo[/name] and [name]Marco[/name] are great as well. I know a [name]Marcos[/name] as well, so that’s an option. You really can’t go wrong, most of the names on your list are so handsome.
Thanks everyone for the insights! I especially appreciated the comments about how these names are actually perceived in Mexico, since I have no idea and we’ll probably end up living there at one point.
I love the suggestions for [name]Joaquin[/name], [name]Mauricio[/name], [name]Reuben[/name], [name]Horacio[/name] (no good nickname though…), and [name]Javier[/name]/[name]Javi[/name].
And it’s too bad my suspicions for [name]Elian[/name] were confirmed… It’s all [name]Elian[/name] Gonzales… But I still adore the name. But no matter – so many good things to choose from!
rosamonte, I’m so curious what names you ended up going with!
It’s interesting to think about how names are thought of in any particular culture. For example I have always loved the name [name]Pilar[/name] but I have heard from my Argentinian friends that it’s considered a very old fashioned name.
[name]Emanuel[/name], [name]Marco[/name] and [name]Mateo[/name] are probably the best, most familiar for Americans. That being said, I actually really like all of the naes you mentioned, and [name]Marco[/name] and [name]Mateo[/name] are by far my favorites. I noticed someone else’s idea of [name]Diego[/name] and I think that’s a great choice as well.
I lived in Mexico for 2 years, recently.
Those aren’t all the most common names for Mexican kids. I worked as a teacher. Never heard [name]Leandro[/name], [name]Marcelo[/name], or [name]Elian[/name]. Never met a [name]Mateo[/name] but I know it’s a latino name and I love it!
Again, love [name]Mateo[/name]. No rolled rs to worry about, yet Latino and biblical and not too popular - at least from my experience.
If you want to really go with the culture an be unique, give him 2 names and call him both. I never saw that until I went to Mexico, with kids an adults like [name]Luis[/name] [name]Fernando[/name], [name]Marco[/name] [name]Antonio[/name], [name]Luis[/name] [name]Miguel[/name] (that’s a famous singer too), [name]Juan[/name] [name]Carlos[/name], [name]Miguel[/name] [name]Angel[/name], [name]Angel[/name] [name]Manuel[/name], and more. [name]Just[/name] throwing that idea out there for your creative mind but I totally understand if you want an American middle name or a first name that isn’t so common.
Can I add [name]Elias[/name] to your list?
I met someone in Mexico with this name - the Spanish version of [name]Elijah[/name]. [name]Love[/name] both pronunciations.
[name]Mateo[/name] is the best though [name]IMO[/name]
[name]Marco[/name] in second.
And since we’re in the Spanish bible, what about [name]Lucas[/name]? That’s [name]Luke[/name].
[name]Just[/name] a word of caution. [name]Emanuel[/name] usable and common in Latino communities, but I’ve seen it rub some non-Latinos the wrong way. If you aren’t considering [name]Jesus[/name], I wouldn’t use [name]Emanuel[/name] either. [name]Manuel[/name] is great though and there are some great suggestions here without crossover baggage.
I also love or have on my own list or did at one time before my husband chewed my list up:
[name]Joaquin[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name]
[name]Rafael[/name]
[name]Arturo[/name]
[name]Zacarias[/name]
[name]Ezequiel[/name]
[name]Ariel[/name]
[name]Angel[/name] (but there’s the pronunciation issue)
Lagilliana - my kids are [name]Ignacio[/name], [name]Jimena[/name] and [name]Flavia[/name] ([name]Nacio[/name], [name]Mena[/name] and [name]Vivi[/name]). I also liked [name]Pilar[/name] but my husband (an Argentine) found it too religious, too. It’s interesting seeing Amenspanglish’s post - and I should have put in my original post that my perceptions of the original poster’s list are not based in Mexican culture - how different names are throughout Latin [name]America[/name]. You see middle aged men named [name]Luis[/name] and more double names like [name]Juan[/name] [name]Carlos[/name] among older people in [name]Argentina[/name], but those aren’t names that people are likely to give children today there.
