We are expecting our second child and don’t yet know if we are having a boy or girl. We need first names that work in English and Spanish. I really love my daughter’s name and want something as good as it. I really love the first name [name]Layla[/name] for a girl, but have no ideas for middle names. We are not so sure about boy names, but have talked about [name]Gabriel[/name], [name]Mateo[/name], and [name]Rafael[/name] (I love [name]Felix[/name], but DH does not. [name]Max[/name] is not an option because of a close friend.). I would [name]LOVE[/name] to hear suggestions for first and middle names for our baby! [name]TIA[/name]… (edit: We now know we are having a girl)
This may be too close, but I love the name [name]Esmeralda[/name]. [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Esmeralda[/name] or [name]Layla[/name] [name]Esmeralda[/name]. Too close?
I like [name]Gabriel[/name] and [name]Mateo[/name], unfortunately here [name]Matteo[/name] (two Ts) is uberpopular along with [name]Matthew[/name] so its not a name I’d use just for that reason. [name]Gabriel[/name] is a really nice name.
I think [name]Layla[/name] is a very pretty name (although I do personally prefer the [name]Laila[/name] spelling). Some middle name ideas…
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Aitana[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Beatriz[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Crisanta[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Elena[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Estela[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Eviana[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Felicia[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Gabriella[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Isabel[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Isolda[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Milena[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Neva[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Nieves[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Olimpia[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Paloma[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Pilar[/name]
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Leila[/name] (I like this spelling)
[name]How[/name] about using another virtue name in the middle to match [name]Esperanza[/name]:
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Engracia[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Viviana[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Consuelo[/name]
And for a boy, how about [name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Solomon[/name]
For a boy I like the name [name]Gustavo[/name].
Girl thoughts:
I like [name]Layla[/name]! Also like:
[name]Maribel[/name]
[name]Viviana[/name]
[name]Rosina[/name]
I love [name]Sophie[/name] [name]Esperanza[/name] with [name]Leila[/name], but I’d spell it this way. I think it looks more elegant.
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Adabella[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Arabela[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Catalina[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Concepcion[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Esmerelda[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Genoveva[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Juliana[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Magdalena[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Marisela[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Primavera[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name]
I think [name]Mateo[/name] or [name]Matthias[/name] would be perfect for a boy! I’ll just suggest middle names that would go with either…
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Bolivar[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Cristobal[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Estevan[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Guillermo[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Rafael[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Salvador[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Vicente[/name]
GOOD [name]LUCK[/name]!
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Isabel[/name] has a great ring to it!
Some of these aren’t Spanish, per se, but they have that romance language flair.
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Elisabetta[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Amalia[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Elena[/name]
[name]Layla[/name] [name]Francesca[/name]
[name]Allegra[/name] [name]Luz[/name]
[name]Allegra[/name] [name]Ilise[/name]
[name]Beatriz[/name] [name]Amalia[/name]
[name]Beatriz[/name] [name]Elisabetta[/name]
[name]Beatriz[/name] [name]Mariella[/name]
[name]Beatriz[/name] [name]Julietta[/name]
[name]Beatriz[/name] [name]Amabel[/name]
[name]Julietta[/name] [name]Ilise[/name]
[name]Julietta[/name] [name]Celeste[/name]
[name]Amelie[/name] [name]Celeste[/name]
[name]Amelie[/name] [name]Elisabetta[/name]
[name]Amelie[/name] [name]Isobel[/name]
Boys:
[name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Tomas[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Rocco[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Marco[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Emiliano[/name]
Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone! I never thought of most of these so you’ve been incredibly helpful.
Right now I am really liking [name]Layla[/name] [name]Isabel[/name] for a girl (though we have not decided on the spelling) and I really think we are leaning toward [name]Mateo[/name] [name]Jose[/name] (DH’s MN) for a boy. We find out what we are having in two weeks. I feel so much more prepared now!
Thanks, again!
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Isabel[/name] is perfect, but I think that the O sounds in [name]Mateo[/name] [name]Jose[/name] run together, disrupting the flow of the name. [name]Mateo[/name] [name]Rafael[/name] would be better in my opinion.
[name]Glad[/name] you like it! 
I agree about the sounds of [name]Mateo[/name] and [name]Jose[/name] the other poster pointed out, although if [name]Jose[/name] is an important name for you for other reasons I would do it. Some other ideas…
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Adamo[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] Adri”n
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Agustin[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Alejandro[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] Andr”s
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Armando[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] C”sar
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Cristian[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Cruz[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Diego[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] Estab”n
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Fede[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Felipe[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Joaquin[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Luis[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Miguel[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Pablo[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Santos[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] [name]Joaquin[/name]
[name]Mateo[/name] Valent”n
Good luck!
Thanks - [name]Mateo[/name] [name]Armando[/name] was another option we were considering, because that is DH’s name! Does that flow better than [name]Mateo[/name] [name]Jose[/name]?
What was that about [name]Matteo[/name] being uberpopular?? It’s only in the 500’s on The List.
I would prefer [name]Armando[/name] to [name]Jose[/name], but that’s just me.
Where I live its uberpopular, but I don’t know one little boy named [name]Henry[/name] or [name]James[/name]. Different names have different levels of popularity in different areas, not always reflected by the list.
Not popular everywhere, obviously, but too popular for me to use personally.
Thanks for all the input! We know now that [name]Sophie[/name] will have a sister, and we really like the name [name]Leila[/name]/[name]Layla[/name], but haven’t settled on a spelling. We are having trouble with the middle name, but are leaning towards [name]Isabel[/name]. Any thoughts on a great name for [name]Sophie[/name] [name]Esperanza[/name]'s sister?
I like [name]Leila[/name] because then [name]Sophie[/name] and [name]Leila[/name] have a similar feel with both having the i and e.
For a middle name, I think a virtue name would go great since [name]Sophie[/name] has one, too. Here’s some ideas…
- are my favs
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Nadine[/name]* (means “hope”)
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Hope[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Adele[/name] (means noble)
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Charis[/name] (means grace)
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Frances[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Helene[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Honora[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Jennet[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Malu[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Priya[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Querida[/name]*
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Rosetta[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Salome[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Verdad[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Vita[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Wynn[/name]
Or a Spanish mn:
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Camile[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Damita[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Engracia[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Faustina[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Fortuna[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Ginata[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Ines[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Josefa[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Kahlo[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Maita[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Matilde[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] Miro
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Paulina[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Peitra[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Perla[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Saretta[/name]
Thanks! I just came across the name [name]Graciela[/name] - [name]How[/name] does [name]Leila[/name] [name]Graciela[/name] sound?
Other contenders:
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Karina[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Pilar[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Isabel[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Graciela[/name] is absolutely perfect - sweet, classy and charming. I don’t like [name]Karina[/name] in this combo, I love [name]Pilar[/name], but it doesn’t work good with [name]Leila[/name]. Middle [name]Isabel[/name] is also good, but WDYT of:
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Belen[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Elodia[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Graziela[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Livia[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Mireia[/name] (my favourite)
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Olalla[/name] / [name]Orlanda[/name] / Orquidea
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Ria[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Sierra[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] Zefer
all above are my spanish family’s ideas - they become really involved and had a long discussion about the best middle name, so I hope this ideas would be useful. All these names could be used as first, of course, but I feel you wouldn’t leave [name]Leila[/name]