Spanish boys names in UK

[Vamos]

We want to give our son a hispanic name to fit his father's Latin American roots but we will be living in England. Our favourite name is Emilio but my Mum says he will get teased and called Emily. Do you agree? Is it too Spanish for England? Does anyone else like this name? We also like Mateo and Aurelio.

[HolyAutumnGoldBatman]

It maybe depends where you live. In London there are babies with all sorts of names from all nationalities and no-one bats an eyelid.

I know an Emilio and it's never struck me as unusual.

I don't personally like it though much prefer Mateo, which is really lovely.

Aurelio always sounds a bit feminine to me.

[Montsti]

I love Emilio - couldn't use it as would've been daft with my surname and also no Hispanic links! Go for it - I don't think it would be an issue.

[Montsti]

Not too keen on your other choices - sorry..

[MolotovBomb]

Hi, I'm from the West Midlands so there is a lot of ethnic diversity here. I don't think that Emilio would be problematic; not feminine in the slightest.

Mateo is another wonderful choice.

Personally, I'm not keen on Aurelio which is too feminine-sounding to my ears. There is a girls name - Aurelia - which is becoming increasingly popular and it is too similar to that IMHO.

Another Hispanic boys name that I particularly like is Enzo.

[timetoask]

What about Xavier? It is very Spanish but not unheard of here in the uk. It's a lovely name and can be pronounced javier in Spanish.
Out of your list the only one I like is Mateo.

[MolotovBomb]

Ooh, Javier is gorgeous ... much prefer it to the Xavier spelling, too (and Javier Bardem is a bit of alright minus the fright-wig in No country For Old Men!)

But I think a problem in the UK would be English-speaking people's pronunciations. They'd say 'Jah-vee-yay' before learning it's 'Ha-vee-yay'. A potential irritant for your little man, OP.

[Paddington]

I come from South America and my husband is English. We decided to give our children Spanish first names and English middle names. Our boys are called Tomás & Rafael. The boys' friends have no problem pronouncing their names and tell their parents off if they pronounce them incorrectly! We live in the Midlands. My order of preference would be Mateo, Emilio & Aurelio.

[Vamos]

Thanks everyone! Really useful. We live in Cambridge so I think it is probably diverse enough around here. We already used Javier on our second son, and we do get people struggling to pronounce or spell it. I thought that Javier Bardem had popularised it but lots of people pronounce it wrong. I agree with you about Aurelio, I think its probably too feminine. I like Rafael but my husband doesn't! I'm glad that you think Emilio doesn't sound too feminine or unusual as I still really like it and you have reassured me. My only small problem with Mateo is that it means "gift from God" and we aren't religious.

[sittinginthesun]

Live Emilio.

[NellyJob]

Emilio is great, and not too tricky..
really like Javier too, very cool name.

[TobyLerone]

I like Emilio, Rafael and Mateo.

I'm pretty sure that you don't need to worry about the meaning of Mateo. Many traditional names have biblical meanings. My DS's name is Joseph and I'm not remotely religious.

[NellyJob]

plus nobody will call him Emily, it sounds quite different

[KaraStarbuckThrace]

Does your son have his dad's surname? We looked at a Spanish boy's name (I'm of Spanish descent) but DH has a very very English surname so it just would be odd.
I like the names you have chosen, think I like Mateo the best.

[PicklesThePottyMouthedParrot]

I really like mateo.

[hermioneweasley]

Emilio is great. I also like Ivo and Arturo.

[DancehallDaze]

Emilio should be fine, people would know Emilio Estevez.

[HolyAutumnGoldBatman]

Arturo is lovely, really like that.

[Vamos]

Yes, you're all proving my mother wrong! Thank you! Yes our surname is hispanic so it will fit well.

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

We called our son gabriel (born in Spain), and are sticking to our guns on the pronunciation, no gayyyyyybriel or us. So far, so good. Nobidy has ever called him gayyyyyyyyyybriel to my knowledge. Apart from the priest when he was baptised lol.

[HolyAutumnGoldBatman]

How are you pronouncing it Fergus?

Gab-ree-elle?

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

No, gabriel with the same stresses as daniel

[Theas18]

Lots of ethnic diversity here abouts. Emilo would fit with the girls names locally-lots of Emily Emilia Millie etc so maybe not to easy to love with initially at lEast because thesse girls names are really common.

Ds has a mate called Alessandro. Nice name but a boy called Alice will be teased, even in the nicest schools. He's a big rugby player now so doesn't get trouble now but a deal of friendly banter....

Mateo is fine. Good name and mat will fit in well in the UK.

But if Emilio is really your favourite go for it. You could go for Leo as a nick name to avoid the shouts if Em across the playground.

DS is 16 now with a very multicultural selection of mates. There is anglicising of names, but mostly they are a tolerant bunch

[sashh]

I had the hots for Emilio Estevez in the 1980s.

sigh

And of course I love the name.