Hello there! My husband and I have been talking about names a lot lately (well, mostly me :D) and we already agree on a bunch of boys’ names, but for some reason we are having trouble deciding on girls’ names. He is Colombian and I’m American, so a lot of the names I like don’t sound good to him. He thinks [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], [name_f]Bethany[/name_f], [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f], and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] all sound weird and I keep telling him they are normal, pretty names! Anyway, the only girls’ name we both love is [name_f]Emma[/name_f] - we would most likely name our daughter [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_f]Carolina[/name_f] ([name_f]Emma[/name_f] is his grandmother’s name and [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is my grandmother’s name). The problem is that [name_f]Emma[/name_f] is sooo popular right now - and I doubt it will have gone down much in popularity by the time we start TTC. I wouldn’t want her to have to be [name_f]Emma[/name_f] G. because there are so many other Emmas in her class.
It would be great if you could suggest some nice Spanish names. There are some that I like, but I don’t want her name to get butchered all the time while growing up in the U.S. (My step-dad is terrible with non-English names; I want him to be able to pronounce it correctly.)
Here are a few I am considering:
[name_m]Luc[/name_m]ía (probably my favorite right now, short and sweet)
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f] (DH likes it pronounced the English or Spanish way, but my ex-boss was named that sooo…I duno. On the plus side, my mom’s middle name is [name_f]Alice[/name_f], so that would be one way of honoring her.)
[name_f]Liliana[/name_f] (would prob call her [name_f]Lily[/name_f], which is also getting very popular I’m starting to like this one less than I used to.)
[name_f]Marisol[/name_f] (maybe a little old fashioned, but she would go by “[name_m]Sol[/name_m]”, which is my DH’s youngest sister’s nickname)
[name_f]Susannah[/name_f] - pretty name, easy to pronounce, but I don’t feel like it’s “the one”.
All suggestions are welcome! [name_f]TIA[/name_f]!
Instead of [name_f]Emma[/name_f], what about [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], [name_f]Amalia[/name_f], or [name_f]Gema[/name_f]?
My name is [name_f]Lucia[/name_f], I go by [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] most of the time, but while living in/ visiting Spain, I’ll use [name_m]Luc[/name_m]ía. It’s great, and has served me very well so far.
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f]- I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] with a Spanish accent & distinction in Spain, but I’m not so keen on it in English.
[name_f]Liliana[/name_f]- cute, but yes, extremely popular. What about [name_f]Lila[/name_f] ([name_u]LEE[/name_u]-la)? Or is that a little confusing? [name_f]Lila[/name_f] is lilac, I think.
[name_f]Marisol[/name_f]- eeh, I’m not a big fan, it seems “typically exotic”… errrm hahah I don’t know, it’s just not the most interesting name ever.
[name_f]Susannah[/name_f]- I love [name_f]Susana[/name_f] is Spanish I do love the extra N and H, though
You may have already ruled these out for one reason or another, but my personal favourites are:
[name_f]Alba[/name_f]
[name_f]Amparo[/name_f]
[name_f]Antonia[/name_f]
[name_f]Augusta[/name_f]
[name_f]Eugenia[/name_f]
[name_f]Iris[/name_f]
[name_f]Leonor[/name_f]
[name_f]Mar[/name_f]
[name_f]Nereida[/name_f]
[name_f]Nuria[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabina[/name_f]
Séfora/ variant
Since you love [name_f]Emma[/name_f] so much, how about [name_f]Emilia[/name_f]? [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] [name_f]Carolina[/name_f] sounds beautiful, elegant and noble and also easily pronounceable almost anywhere.
My favorite from your list are [name_f]Lucia[/name_f], [name_f]Liliana[/name_f] and [name_f]Susannah[/name_f]. All these names can be easily pronounced in English and Spanish. Here are some other suggestions:
Fun! I love the ones you’ve listed. Especially [name_f]Carolina[/name_f], [name_f]Liliana[/name_f], and [name_f]Susannah[/name_f].
Others (which have probably been listed) I like:
[name_f]Catalina[/name_f]
[name_f]Luciana[/name_f]
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]
[name_f]Gabriella[/name_f]
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
Fun! I love the ones you’ve listed. Especially [name_f]Carolina[/name_f], [name_f]Liliana[/name_f], and [name_f]Susannah[/name_f].
Others (which have probably been listed) I like:
[name_f]Catalina[/name_f]
[name_f]Luciana[/name_f] -[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] or [name_f]Luci[/name_f] for short:)
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]
[name_f]Gabriella[/name_f]
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
I also knew a girl whose name was [name_u]Rio[/name_u] (Meaning [name_u]River[/name_u]) which I thought was so unique, and pretty.
Thanks for all your responses! I love the suggestion of [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], but my husband and best friend both say it’s an old lady name in Spanish.
[name_f]Lucia[/name_f] - still like it, but DH is not a fan.
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f] - like it but my mom pointed out most people will mispronounce it using the English pronunciation instead of [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-lee-cee-ah
[name_f]Natalia[/name_f] - beautiful name but I don’t like how Americans pronounce it (Na-tahl-ya)
[name_f]Marisol[/name_f] - I agree with lucialucentum, it is “typically exotic” and to me it sounds like a name more fitting for a middle-aged woman.
[name_f]Elena[/name_f] - my cousin’s name so no
[name_f]Valentina[/name_f] - this is a possibility, although it is quite long. I guess she could go by [name_u]Vale[/name_u].
[name_f]Catalina[/name_f] - Beautiful name…my best friend (also Colombian like DH) says she knows a lot of bitchy Catalinas so she’s not a fan, but that wouldn’t necessarily deter me from using it. The nickname Cati is also really cute.
I like some of the other suggestions but wouldn’t use them for one reason or another - mainly because I have friends with those names. Well, I’ll keep working on DH to see if I can get him to budge at all. Thanks again for the replies!
Hello! I fell in love with Spanish names when I lived in Mexico but my husband has a hard time pronouncing them so we won’t be able to use them. Here are some of my favorites and some nickname suggestions:
[name_f]Socorro[/name_f] (nn Soco, [name_f]Coco[/name_f], [name_f]Cori[/name_f], [name_f]Cora[/name_f])
[name_u]Carmen[/name_u]
[name_f]Alondra[/name_f] (nn Alo)
[name_f]Valentina[/name_f] (nn [name_u]Vale[/name_u])
[name_u]Damaris[/name_u] (nn [name_f]Mari[/name_f])
[name_f]Eva[/name_f] (pn. like [name_f]Ava[/name_f])
[name_f]Isabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Alma[/name_f]
[name_f]Solana[/name_f]
[name_f]Sarahi[/name_f] (pn. Sa-ra-EE, Spanish equivalent of [name_f]Sarai[/name_f])
[name_f]Thalia[/name_f] (pn. [name_m]Tah[/name_m]-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-ah, rhymes with [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f])
[name_f]Miriam[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Miri[/name_f])
[name_f]Julietta[/name_f] (nn [name_u]Juli[/name_u] or [name_f]Etta[/name_f])
[name_f]Carolina[/name_f] (nn [name_u]Caro[/name_u] or [name_f]Lina[/name_f])
[name_f]Mariana[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Mari[/name_f] or [name_f]Ana[/name_f])
[name_f]Mariela[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Mari[/name_f] or [name_f]Ela[/name_f])
[name_f]Marisela[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Mari[/name_f])
[name_f]Alejandra[/name_f] (nn Ale)
Most of these are people I knew in Mexico or here in the States. The other one I really like is [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] but I think that’s more Mexican than Spanish. The ones I think would work the best in [name_u]America[/name_u] would be [name_u]Carmen[/name_u], [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] and [name_f]Alondra[/name_f]. The others might take some explaining to English speakers but that’s ok. I love that you want to use [name_f]Carolina[/name_f]! I think it would make a great first name too. I knew the sweetest little girl named [name_f]Carolina[/name_f] nn [name_u]Caro[/name_u]. I saw that you have [name_f]Anna[/name_f] and [name_f]Julia[/name_f] in your signature. Those would both work in Spanish. [name_f]Buena[/name_f] suerte y que Dios les bendiga!
Thanks for the feedback! It’s funny you mentioned [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], which is my mother-in-law’s name. I suppose that could have middle name potential if we wanted to honor her. I do love [name_f]Anna[/name_f] and [name_f]Julia[/name_f], but I like the pronunciation of both in English better actually, and [name_f]Anna[/name_f] sounds so plain with my husband’s two-syllable very typical Spanish last name lol. Although I guess you could argue [name_f]Emma[/name_f] would sound the same - I just love the flow of [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_f]Carolina[/name_f]! Also, our nephew’s name is [name_m]Julian[/name_m], so we wouldn’t go with [name_f]Julia[/name_f] or [name_f]Julieta[/name_f]. I still love them, though, which is why they are in my signature haha. [name_f]Mariana[/name_f] is very pretty too, but there is already a little girl in the family with that name.
I like [name_f]Alejandra[/name_f] with the nicknames Ale and Aleja. I just think my stepdad would have a hard time pronouncing it. [name_u]Carmen[/name_u] and [name_f]Carolina[/name_f] are also great names. [name_f]Carolina[/name_f] has so much nickname potential - [name_u]Caro[/name_u], [name_m]Carito[/name_m], [name_f]Carol[/name_f], [name_f]Lina[/name_f]. And [name_f]Carolina[/name_f] with the English pronunciation doesn’t sound bad. We were thinking of keeping it in the middle name spot, but it might be nice to use it as a first name instead.
I’m starting to like this one less than I used to.)
[name_f]TIA[/name_f]!
hahah I don’t know, it’s just not the most interesting name ever.
Thanks again for the replies!