What's in a (Spanish) Name?
If you aren't an aficionado of all things Mexican (which we weren't when we first moved to Yucatan), during your first few months of living here, you will meet people with names that are unfamiliar. Some of them are cute, some are funny and some are just downright odd.
Let's start with Spanish names. In our pre-Working Gringo days in California, we were familier with names like Jose, Jorge or Maria because California roots are, after all, Mexican. We suspect that perhaps many of the Mexicans we came in contact with may have adopted these more normal Spanish names to make life easier for themselves.
Upon immersing ourselves in Yucatan, we were confronted with names like Socorro, Izauro, Santiago and Ignacio... names that were definitely new to us. Some of these names (like the ones just mentioned), we found rather beautiful. Working Gringa's Spanish name is Elena, yet another beautiful name. But Working Gringo's name translated into Spanish has not been quite so painless. While "James" is a perfectly fine name in English, the Spanish version of James (pronounced "Hah-mess") is rather uncommon and not quite so pleasing. What's more, the alternative of Jaime always raises a chuckle from our Spanish-speaking friends - we're not sure why. Apparently, Santiago also means "James" and Working Gringo has found that much more amenable.
Of course, if you don't like your name, there is always the option of a nickname. Nicknames are popular here, but connections to their antecedents have not always been obvious to us. Here are some Mexican nicknames that we have run across and the "given" names that they are related to:
- Jesús (a common name here) becomes Chucho
- José becomes Pepe
- Ignacio becomes Nacho
- Socorro becomes Soco or Coco
- Maria Elena becomes Malena
- Eugenia becomes Genny (pronounced "Henny")
- Beatriz becomes Betty
- Concepcion becomes Conchi
- and so on...
Then there are the stranger dimunitives. There is a popular hardware store in the Yucatan named Boxito. From our Mayan language studies, we have learned that box means "black" and the Spanish suffix -ito means "little". As it turns out, we were right! Boxito is a nickname given to a little guy who has dark skin. It is a dimunitive name, given out of affection or familiarity, not out of disrespect. And it was probably the nickname of the man who started this very successful chain of stores. Other dimunitives in that vein are Flaco (skinny man), Gorda (fat female), Gordita (little fat female), Guera (white woman), Guapo (handsome man), Rubia (blonde woman). And of course, just change the "a" to "o" or vice-versa, and the name gets a sex change. Fun and easy!
While we're on the subject, the habit of adding dimunitives to names is a charming one and we're not sure how we lived without it before now. Mama becomes mamacita, abuelo becomes abuelito, gata becomes gatita and the list goes on ad infinitum. If you work at it hard enough, you can add -ito or -ita to almost anything and that thing is suddenly little, cute and endowed with charm and endearment. Of course, this is also used for names: Lupe becomes Lupita (at least one cafe in every town in Mexico is Cafe Lupita), Estrella becomes Estrellita, Angel becomes Angelito, etc.
But our favorites are the names we would never have thought of in a million lifetimes. Our assistant, the Amazing Beatriz, has told us about people she has met (more than one!) named Annirev. We pondered over that for a few minutes when we heard it but she finally had to tell us that it is the abbreviation for Anniversaire de Revolución (The Anniversary of the Revolution), which is the way the holiday on November 20 is often presented on a calendar.
We ourselves have met more than one young woman named Leydi Diana. All the Leydi's we have met seem to be in their early twenties... hmmm! Certainly not a coincidence.
The Amazing Beatriz also told us about a story she read in the local paper a few years back. There was a local whose name was Onecent (pronounced "OHN-neh-sent"). We puzzled over this one too but she told us not to bother. The story was that the father of Onecent had been out in the milpa (corn field) one day, and he had found a coin on the ground. On it, the coin had the letters ONE CENT and when his son was born later that day, he was so named. He could have been named Ingodwetrust ("een-gohd-WAY-troost") but that probably didn't trip off the tongue quite so lightly.
When we were researching this article, we found a story from last summer about the Mexican government cracking down on "strange" baby names, trying to save their little citizens (paisanitos?) from future embarassment in the schoolyard. Apparently, inventive names are a Mexican tradition and a custom that we think is rather endearing. Adorable. Charming. It's a customita! (Okay, so it doesn't work all the time...)
Have you heard any interesting names here in the Yucatan? Please tell us... we're fascinated!
Comments
Joanna Maria 16 years ago
This is a fantastic article! I really enjoy the work you are doing, I love learning about new cultures and this site is great for learning about Yucatan. My name is Joanna, and I don't think there is a Mexican version, although the "j" is pronauced differently. my friends in Mexico call me bebe, :) not sure what it really means but I think it's cute. My husbands name is really easy, it's Pietro (italian), Pedro in Spanish, Peter in English, I have to say that I like Pedro best. What can I say? I love everything about the Mayan culture, the people are truly amazing and I will always vacation there.
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Shirin Yucagringa 16 years ago
Hello WG's!!!
I always have found certain names in spanish quite funny, and having an unusual name in this part of the world (Shirin means sweet, in persian or farsee language), this has always been a fun topic of discussion, both with english and spanish speaking friends.
I think I have one explanation for the snickering or quiet laugh that you have heard when you mention your spanish translation for James to locals or mexicans in general:
Several years back, the powdered drink company called Tang, aired some funny British aristocratic commercials dubbed into spannish, on national TV of a family going on safari or in their very royal looking, stuffy Estate, where the children always asked their very british buttler, CALLED JAMES or JAIME, for more delicious Tang drink, and Butler Jaime would reply: "No se lo merecen!" or in english= They don't deserve it!, in the spanish equivalent to a brittish, stuck up accent.
A lot of yucatecans and mexicans remember these TV ads fondly, but have always found funny the mention of the name Jaime, reminding them of that butler character.
Kinda reminds me of the equivalent to those funny, Grey Poupont mustard commercials that used to air on american TV, which also make me snicker on remembrance of them.
Other funny, unusual names in spanish:
Name= english translation= nickname
-Primitivo= primitive= primi
-Perfecto= perfect
-Bartolo/a= Bartholomew (ok, not funny, but unusual to hear)
-Agapito= no known equivalent = Pito (funny in itself, because Pito is like calling a Richard= Dick)
And I was once sent a jpg of funny names that included the IFE picture of a girl in Campeche literally called: USNAVY MARINA!!!! No joke!!!
Great fun article! I enjoyed it very much!
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Carlos Oliva 16 years ago
I admire and feel proud of the Mayan civilization and named my two daughters with a mix of Neutral, Spaniard and Mayan names plus the two last names accustomed in Mexico.
The first one names Cielo Itzam-na LucÃa. Cielo means sky, Itzam-na, means the Mayan father of gods, which had the male and female duality, and LucÃa just a Spanish name.
Mi second daughter is named Linda Yaxe Sak-Nik-Nahal. Linda means beautiful or precious, Yaxe means "Ceiba" the sacred tree of the Mayans, and Sak-Nik-Nahal, means Blanca conciencia de la eflorescencia or translated to English: White essence of the efflorescence.
If you have an opportunity, you can buy a good book about Mayan civilization, and by reading carefully you can find a lot of interesting names. If somebody is interested in Mayan names for their babies, I’m attaching a few examples. Just take into account that Mayan names were based on natural objects and phenomena as well as subjective divinity.
{Mayan*Spanish=English}
Kaab * Abeja = Bee
K’iin * Sol = Sun
Ek * Estrella = Star
Aak’ab * Noche = Night
Ki’imak óol * Feliz = Happy
Lool, nikte’ * Flor = Flower
K’áak‘ * Fuego = Fire
Sayab * Fuente = Water Spring
Miis * Gato = Cat
Yak * Gato montés = Wild cat
Ki’ichpam * Guapa = Beautiful
Kiik * Hermana = Sister
Koh * Leoncillo = Little lion
Chaanpal * Nene = Baby
K’eech * Querida = Lovely
Sit’riyo * Saltamontes = Grass hopper
Kili’ich * Santo = Saint
Muun * Tierno = tender
Suhuy * Virgen = Virgin
Also you can find a lot of Mexican indigenous names, including Mayan ones, at the site http://www.bebeespacio.com.mx/nombres_bebe_indigenas.html
Be prepared with your dictionary to translate from Spanish to English.
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bethani 16 years ago
does anyone know what MILINA means?
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Erika Maria 16 years ago
i have a tio named jesus and where we are from chucho is what we call dogs. cachu or cachuto is what we call my tio and others named jesus
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Erika Maria 16 years ago
well as you can see my parents decided against using maria as my first name and opted to use it as my middle name thank god!!! but orignially my name was going to be quetzalxochitl which can mean precious flower or queen but my mom thought that most would never be able to say it here in the US so it became erika maria. i wish she would have gone with the first but at least my name isn't just MARIA!
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Joseph 16 years ago
Carlota, actually :)
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charlotte 16 years ago
Would my name (charlotte) be translated as Carlita in spanish???
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Cabrera 16 years ago
A mail just arrived and it says:
Lady Diana lives, and she lives in México.
It came with a jpg archive. The picture is the official identification from
Lady Diana RodrÃguez RodrÃguez.
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Kate 16 years ago
Brief history on the name "James" and why it's "Santiago"...
James is generally acknowledged to be a Biblical name, from one of Jesus' brothers. However, in Hebrew that name does not exist. It is "Ia'akov", which is "Jacob". This made it into the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible as Iacobos, the Greek version of the name. This translated into Spanish as "Iago". However, since many Catholics liked naming their kids after saints, it became "Saint Iago" or Santiago.
However, when 1611 came along and the Bible was being translated into English, the King wanted his name not just ON, but IN the Bible, so "Jacob" in the New Testament was changed to "James".
One of my favorite name translations into Spanish is Jeff, which becomes "Jefe". In Spanish, "Jefe" means "chief" or "Boss"
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Luis Gustavo 16 years ago
Hi.
Really interesting webpage here...
In my family there seems to be a tradition to use Firstname and middle name, added with two last names as already mentioned... which is also the way that soap operas create names for their characters... so everyone in my family has rather... "theatrical" names.
I'm Luis Gustavo Padilla López (Sorry if I dont try to put it in the english sound of it)
Usually in web forms there's not enough space for my full name so I use a shorter version for it.
So My brothers are called: Jorge Luis and Luis David (I have two male brothers), My mom is called Maria Esther and my dad is Luis Arnoldo...
I told you... Theatrical names
The reason all of the children are called Luis is obviously because of my dad but there's more to it.
I'm the youngest of the 3 of us, so I'll start from the older.
The first baby was born... a Baby boy!!! he had to be called like his dad... but "Arnoldo" is not considered a nice name... so they only used Luis, but "Luis" is too simple so they called him Luis David.
Then the second boy was born and exactly on St. Luis day... so thank's to the coincidence he was called "Luis", so Jorge Luis he is.
Then the third one, the most handsome, the smartest one, the sexy one (well, maybe not then) was born (that's me of course) and I HAd to be called after my dad as well, otherwise people would think I'm the milk-man son so my name came to be Luis Gustavo.
As for nick names:
Maria Esther: Nena (nothing to do with her name but she was the first girl on a family of 10 brothers so they called her "baby" which translates as Nena) she is almost 60 and is still "La Nena" the baby
Luis Arnoldo: Nono (when he was younger he had a nephew who couln't pronounce his name and turned "Arnoldo" to "Anono" and then to "Nono") Again mi dad is over 60 and many of my cousins doesn't even now his name hi is just Nono
Luis David: Luisda (just shorter since theatrical names are too long)
Jorge Luis: Jois (Jorge, but in cute. He is 30 Y.O. now so he doesn't really like his nickname)
Luis Gustavo: El Güero (stands for blond, when I was younger I had blond hair, but that was then, still, 27 years later I'm still "El Güerito"
And there's more and more names with my cousins uncles and so... but I have a 60 persons family and this is not my blog so I will not intrude... so much
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