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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Spanglish baby names!

82 replies

SophieStripe · 17/06/2018 17:48

Hi... I'm very early, only 10+4 but petrified of first scan and something being wrong. I can't cruise the pregnancy board anymore as too many things to worry about in there so thought I would come here... Seems a lot more fun and positive which is where I need my head to be right now! So, we are English mum and Spanish dad, living in UK but lots of family back in Spain. Name could be either English or Spanish origen but it needs to "work" in both places - e.g. Can't be something that in Spain they would read and wonder how the hell you pronounce it and vice versa. Ideally also can't end in "ía" like Sofía or Lucía (although I love both of those) as surname also ends in that sound! Any thoughts?

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Candyflip · 18/06/2018 03:18

I think many people in the U.K. would pronounce Luis as Loo-EE because they are so used to the name Louis. Which is a shame as I think the Spanish pronunciation is so much nicer.

LinoleumBlownapart · 18/06/2018 03:12

I know a lovely Álvaro, a very talented musician and a lovely kid. He has a very naughty little brother called Pedro though.

I believe Álvaro has the accent so the stress is placed on the first syllable, without the accent the name becomes al VAR o with the stress on the second syllable. Isn't that how the rule goes?

LockedOutOfMN · 18/06/2018 00:26

Most of my 'naughty' students are named Álvaro so that has slightly put me off the name. They are lovely boys, just a pain in the neck sometimes and incapable of remaining quiet or still for any period of time including assemblies and exams. (yes I teach key stage 4!)

CreakyAuldYin · 18/06/2018 00:23

Yes I think I just badly described it, sorry . Blush

It is like AL bar o if I actually concentrated.

Still nice but I can see what you mean about the accent LockedOut .

LockedOutOfMN · 18/06/2018 00:17

Álvaro has the stress on the first syllable so it's AL bar ro (or AL var ro).

I don't know any English Álvaro's. Also can be difficult to get official documents like iGCSE / A Level certificates printed as Álvaro rather than Alvaro. Maybe avoid names with tildes or eñe?

Alva would be pronounced Alba by many Spanish people (b sound for v - it's a more "buzzy" (voiced) B than a the sound for a b e.g. Barcelona / Valencia - the latter is pronounced with a buzzy B sound at the start).

Original poster
SophieStripe · 18/06/2018 00:14

How funny... I know an Álvaro in Spain and he definitely has the emphasis on the Al instead of the var! Just checked with husband and says it the same way. But maybe we are just explaining our pronounciations badly over the written word!
Alba is back on the list (my list anyway) haha
Quite like Ariana but always think of Ariana grande...
Love Ava/Ada but both taken in family already... Although might steal them!

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applesandpears56 · 18/06/2018 00:07

Ariana

CreakyAuldYin · 18/06/2018 00:04

I think slight emphasis on var like jar...

al-VAR-o.

But then I guess we've taken pronunciation from Spanish family...

MariaMadita · 18/06/2018 00:01

You might like Ada of Anna.

Alba is really nice imo, btw. :)

Original poster
SophieStripe · 17/06/2018 23:57

If I were to go with Alba/Alma and forget what family thought I would just go Alba. Not sure I like Alva... It reminds me of the chipmunks?! Alvin, Simon, Theodore! I like Alvaro, thanks! On the list. Do people in UK pronounce it álvaro or alvaaaaro (as in emphasis on var like jar rather than ALvaro with emphasis on AL)?

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CreakyAuldYin · 17/06/2018 23:50

I do like Álvaro for a boy and our family in Spain and uk seem to manage that ok. :)

Love Alba :)

Somewhereovertheroad · 17/06/2018 23:47

Alva is a Hebrew name and also sometimes an anglicised version of the Irish Ailbhe.

Somewhereovertheroad · 17/06/2018 23:45

If you love Alma would Alva work?

Original poster
SophieStripe · 17/06/2018 23:39

That is a good point... Gotta make sure there will be crap with their name on in one country or another!
Don't have a problem with one L in millicent to get over the Spanish LL pronounciation... But I wonder if its just not translatable enough. Husband is from central Spain, west of Madrid so its more S than TH like in the south. I think we will have to rule it out. I love Alba and Alma but my family don't (I know its not up to them though!). Any more boys names? I really struggle with boys names I dislike a lot of them... I like Mateo, Oscar, Luis, Lucas, Luca. And that's it so far!

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WildCherryBlossom · 17/06/2018 22:03

@elQuintoConyo Kevincostner de Jesus!? surely there is only one? From Granada?

OP lots of saints / biblical names work in Spanglish. I love Gabriel & Rafael for boys or Sebastian or Inigo.

Lots of lovely girls names ending in ia but not all. Maribel, Ester, Alba

yotica · 17/06/2018 21:52

By the way, my daughter's are delighted when we go to Spain to the Chinese 1 euro shops as there is always crap with her names on it, something that doesn't happen in England...

yotica · 17/06/2018 21:48

Hi, I'm Spanish married to Scottish. I've got an Erica and a Carla. In my list of names there were: Daniela, Bianca, Aitana, Ariadne. For boys I had Aitor, Elliot, Victor and Iker. Good luck on your pregnancy.

Littletreefrog · 17/06/2018 21:46

Oops I meant Leonardo

Littletreefrog · 17/06/2018 21:46

For a boy I like
Mateo
Leanardo
Diego
Valentino

For a girl
Maria
Alma
Gabriella

katycb · 17/06/2018 21:42

We have English/Mexican friends who have Leonardo (Leo) I know that it is a different dialect but they chose that because it worked in both.

MariaMadita · 17/06/2018 21:36

Cecilia, Mafalda, Marissa, Marina, Elena, Gloria, Anna, Alexandra, Bianca, Clara, Penelope.
Leo, David, Daniel, Christian, Ian, Isaac, Lucas, Marco, Sebastian.

LockedOutOfMN · 17/06/2018 21:34

Milicent would be pronounced Meeleethent, so similar to English apart from the ss/th sound in the middle (some parts of Spain say ss instead of th so this could depend on where your DH is from). LL in Spanish is pronounced like English y. Would the one L spelling mean that her name is always misspelled in English-speaking countries?

Emma is a name that works in both languages and is spelled and pronounced the same.

Original poster
SophieStripe · 17/06/2018 21:32

I kinda like Ainhoa... But I think English people would struggle with it

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Original poster
SophieStripe · 17/06/2018 21:30

Yeah.. I didn't think Austin would work... Off the list it comes!

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Original poster
SophieStripe · 17/06/2018 21:29

How does millicent (millie) work in Spanish? Just realised gabriela doesn't really work with our surname which starts with G... Shame I really like it!

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