Morning all,
My husband is Spanish/Catalan and we'd like to pick a Spanish or Catalan name for our baby that is fairly easy for English speakers to pronounce correctly.
For a girl, my favourites so far are:
- Lucia
- Elena
- Alicia
- Mireia (pronounced Meer-aye-a)
Lucia is my favourite of the list but one thing that really puts me off is the fact that it's been the most popular girls name in Spain for the past 5 years. Although we don't have any immediate plans to move back to Spain, it's a possibility. My husband doesn't think this is an issue and says that as there are fewer name choices in Spanish it's no big deal - it's totally normal for there to be 5 Marias or 5 Antonios in a class. Mireia is a beautiful Catalan name but I think it's probably too unusual outside of Spain and people would always struggle to pronounce/spell it.
For boys we want to avoid a name ending in "o" because my OH can't stand the way most non-Spanish speakers pronounce it -elongating the "O" sound. My husband would prefer a Catalan name if it's a boy. So the list so far is:
- Rafael (spelt the Spanish not Catalan way)
- Mateu or Mateo (only exception to the no "o" name rule)
- Pau (pronounced "Pow" - husband's choice but I think it might sound odd to non-Catalan speakers)
I love the Catalan name Mateu but I think the vowel sounds in it at the end are really difficult for non-Catalan speakers to pronounce (myself included!). We could also go for a Catalan/Spanish name like Alexandre, Marc, Daniel or David but they seems a little boring IMO.
Any opinions/alternatives very welcome!
