I’m half Filipino and expecting a baby girl. The only name my husband and I can agree on is Lareina, which I am aware of is apparently not a “real” name despite finding it on name lists. However, Reina is a common name in Philippines and in Latin countries which would be her nick name. It means Queen…La Reina actually means The Queen.
I sought opinions on the subreddit Name Nerds and people were saying Lareina was stupid or strange however Reina is beautiful and acceptable. Is that name variation really that far of a stretch for it to be weird? They both pretty much mean the same thing though. We could go with a different spelling or even Lorena but I would have to try to get my husband on board.
I think Lareina is fine - the meaning “The Queen” is kind of cool
Thank you for your answer! [name_m]Just[/name_m] out of curiosity, are you latina or from an area that is predominately latin? I’m just curious for their thoughts. Not sure why I care so much when I live in an area where there’s not that big of a community LOL I guess worried if we go to Mexico and vacation with her there.
No, I’m not -hopefully someone else here will be able to help there!
Lol thanks. Reddit’s namenerds can be vicious. I am finding a lot of non-Spanish speakers find the name pretty but a few Spanish speakers on there say it sound tacky because it’s THE [name_f]Queen[/name_f] instead of just [name_f]Queen[/name_f] in meaning…so I’m thinking maybe I should just say screw it and pick the name, plus I live in Ohio where there’s not that big of a community haha. Her nickname would be [name_f]Reina[/name_f] anyhow if we visited Mexico…
I am also not Latina, but they seem similar enough in meaning on the surface. I’d say go with the one you like better!
Thank you. I just find it odd that adding La in front apparently makes it stupid to some people.
I think people might find it it add since at first it can be hard to pronounce, but I really like Lareina!
Some other spelling suggestions you could use
Laraina
Loreina
Lareyna
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Sounds so much like [name_f]Lorena[/name_f] to me!
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Lareina is beautiful, but I would opt for [name_f]Lorena[/name_f] or Lorraina instead.
While I do like the sound, I find the “La” portion a bit…strange. NOT tacky, but a little strange. Saying “Lareina” seems fine in third person, but using the name in a first person conversation feels conflicting. For instance, calling out “Come here, Lareina” is akin (to me, at least) to saying “Come here, the Queen”.
However, I do live in an area with a large Latin community, so I wouldn’t worry too much about this if you reside in Ohio and the primary language is [name_f]English[/name_f]. If this doesn’t bother you, then I say go for Lareina!
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I’m going to try to talk to my husband about my concerns and see if he can agree to a name spelling change like Larena, Laraina, Lorraina, Lareyna…something that sets it apart from Spanish spelling THE QUEEN lol. I think it bothers me enough that the spelling would be translated that way, I hope husband is on board.
Lol I don’t think it’s the pronunciation but more so it being The [name_f]Queen[/name_f] as in calling someone with that “title”. I do think the name spelling variations is a nice compromise and makes me feel better knowing it’s not exactly spelled as two Spanish words put together. [name_m]Just[/name_m] really hope my husband is on board with it haha I’m weird, I like the “i”…I am leaning towards Lorraina, Loreina, Laraina, Loraina…
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Latina here 
I think it sounds pretty! Ngl it literally meaning ‘The Queen’ is kinda weird to me, definitely not tacky or stupid but a bit weird (in a way it’s also kinda cool? Its like 3/4 slightly odd and 1/4 kinda cool). But honestly how often is the phrase “The Queen” spoken so I think it’s fine, especially if you’re not in a large Spanish speaking area! Aside that I do think it does sound very pretty and after a bit of hearing and seeing the it, it seems more like a name and less of phrase
I don’t speak Spanish, and my initial thought from your title was asking if you could get the meaning of [name_f]Reina[/name_f] from a variation of [name_f]Lorraine[/name_f] as they sound similar.
[name_m]Hi[/name_m]! I’m Latina and grew up speaking Spanish!
I think purely on sound, Lareina is beautiful! I don’t think adding the La takes away from the strength and elegance of [name_f]Reina[/name_f]. I do think, however, that it does sound a little odd to my ears, because it does sound like two words to me. For a comparison, there was someone I met named Hismajesty, and although it actually worked really well for him and has some great, strong sounds to it, my brain automatically thinks of it as the two words “His Majesty” instead of one name (Lareina feels more subtle than this, but I thought I’d share since it’s the first thing that came to mind).
I wouldn’t say that’s a dealbreaker though, since I do think Lareina has a lovely sound. Especially if [name_f]Reina[/name_f] would end up being her nickname! I do like the idea of using a different spelling to distance it a little bit more from the literal words :))
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I think it would seem strange to native Spanish speakers. Similar to being called “Thequeen” in [name_f]English[/name_f]. There is a difference between [name_f]Reina[/name_f] and Lareina - [name_f]Reina[/name_f] is a recognised name and Lareina isn’t. Like in [name_f]English[/name_f] - [name_u]Prince[/name_u] is a recognised name but being called Theprince would be strange.
That said, I don’t think it really matters if you don’t live in a country where Spanish is the predominant language.
This is exactly my feeling with this name, as I’m Spanish. It doesn’t sound like a name to me, as all I can think when I hear it is “the queen” (in fact, my first thought is la reina Sofía (Queen Sofía of Spain) 
)
I’d avoid using it if she’s going to grow up in a place with a big latino population, but as it isn’t the case… I guess you can use it if you like it.
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I think Lareina is too much.
[name_f]Lorena[/name_f] is a much better choice.