Names that work in English and Spanish?

[iamabackseatdriverfromamerica]

DP and I have just started TTC, and I've just realised that most of the names I've always loved and had set aside for future kids just won't work for us – he's Spanish and Swedish, I'm English and French, and we live in a Spanish-speaking country (although not Spain itself).

When a 'V' is often pronounced as a 'B', a 'J' is more like an 'H' with a cold, anything starting with 'S' getting an "é" sound added to the beginning, and so many more differences in Spanish / English pronunciations, can anyone help me start a new list of elegant-but-slightly-offbeat names for a potential future LO that could work in both tongues?

For a sense of my taste in names, In the past I've always loved:

For girls:

Olive
Sofia
Genevieve
Erica
Anouk
Vivienne
Beatrice
Eve

And for boys:

Theo
Grayson
Miles
Maximilian
Ethan
Luca

Some of them could still work, but many wouldn't, and DP and I want as expansive a range of options to narrow down from...

Any help / ideas would be super-appreciated!

Aurelia
Aurora
Cecilia
Elena
Isadora
Leona
Martina
Sierra
Roxana
Zara

Sebastian
Elias
Max
Lucas
Ruben
Felix
Fergus

Like to add just one name, I've known a Spanish girl with this name and I like it. Easy to pronounce and simple... Lola.

Anna
Esther
Gemma

3 Spanish sisters I wast School I the UK with.

Ana
Alexia
Alba
Clara
Monica
Marta
Lola

Theo will be Teo as the TH is hard to pronounce

Do you want something international sounding or recognisably British/Spanish/Swedish/French but easy to say in Spanish and English?There are lots of lovely Spanish names and only a few key letters to avoid in terms of pronunciation. I like:

Alba
Ines
Clara
Marta
Silvia
Carla
Carmen
Penelope
Nora
Isabella
Valentina
Lia

Andres
Marc
Daniel
Lucas
Bruno
Carlos
Santiago
Diego
Max
Rafael
Erik

I knew a family with a Carlotta, Matilda, Sofia and Carolina.

Luna
Lola
Martina
Emmanuella
Sophia
Amelia
Jennifer
Rochelle
Zinnia
Suzie

Frederick
Charles
Toby
Paul
Lucas
Tito
Matthew
Gregory
Ramone
Claude

Alba?

I would do a search because there have been tons of threads on this over the past few years, OP.

In reality most names work so it's hard to just give a list. Of the top 20 boys/girls names in England and Wales from 2017, these all work:

OLIVER

GEORGE
NOAH

LEO
OSCAR
CHARLIE

WILLIAM
ALFIE

THOMAS

FREDDIE

OLIVIA
AMELIA
AVA
EMILY
ISABELLA
MIA
ELLA
SOPHIA
EVIE
JESSICA
FREYA

Maria / Mario?

Gabriel
Rafael
Sebastian
Xavier
Alex
Matteo

Ramona
Yolanda
Ines
Emelie / Emily
Sofia / Sofie / Sophia
Isabella
Eulalia
Catalina
Maria
Lua
Lola

Going to put it out there. Can you not name them something you like and people will learn to pronounce it? It’s only the same as if they were to end up travelling for business, people would learn their name

My half Spanish niece and nephew are Oscar and Miranda.

@LeeMiller I think we're drawn more to names that represent the fact that we're a mix of nationalities, so rather than an 'English' name like 'Lucy' or a 'Spanish' one like 'Carmen', we'd rather find something that spans the two easily.

And @Thetimehascometo, Can you not name them something you like and people will learn to pronounce it? It’s only the same as if they were to end up travelling for business, people would learn their name

We absolutely could, and we'd rather not have our kids have to constantly correct / explain / put up with mispronunciations.

It's not always just a mistake in pronunciation; some English sounds are physically really tricky for Spanish speakers to say (like English people struggling to roll their 'r's), and vice versa.

There are some lovely suggestions on here though – thank you to those of you who have thrown ideas in the ring!

Leo is one I used to love and completely forgot about until you posted, @LividAtDolphins (I did try a search but maybe didn't get the search terms right – will try again). There are lots of names you've posted I love, actually, but unfortunately V gets pronounced as B here, which cuts out a few otherwise-winners because 'Oliber' or 'Aba' would drive me bats

Alba is beautiful too - I was toying with 'Alma' for a while (Spanish for 'soul') but Alba is a version I'd never have thought of!

Thanks all!

Marta?

@iamabackseatdriverfromamerica 😂 we weren’t as kind to Dd. It’s amazing how many ways Niamh can be mispronounced. Family and friends just needed telling there once, the doctors is out favourite: Nee-am-huh, Nemo, Naomi... we’ve had it all 😂

Good luck with your search!

For girls, what about names like Gabriella, Natalia, Daniela, Emilia, etc. ? Used in both languages and usually pronounced very similarly in both.

Claudia
Laura
Iris
Differently pronounced in English and Spanish, but work well in both.
Oscar
Lucas
Reuben

@thetimehascometo : Niamh is a GORGEOUS name (when pronounced right) so I don't blame you at all – I just don't think I'd have your patience! How is your DD about it? Does she mind, or is it just 'how things are' for her?

A Spanish-English family I know have gone for Spanish names but English nicknames as a compromise:
Carlos nn Charlie
Alejandro nn Alex
Luciana nn Lucy
Leonardo nn Leo

It's easier to find a girl's name that's international and pronounced the same in both languages, in my experience. Emma, Isabella, Sophia, Emilia, Elisa, Maria... For boys, fairly classic names like Oscar, Sebastian, Nicolas, Tomas, Gabriel, Daniel, Samuel, Martin all
work well internationally, though the pronunciation might be slightly different.

@iamabackseatdriverfromamerica she’s too young to really notice yet. We figure it’s jusy one of those things though (I honestly didn’t realise how few people would actually recognise it. It has been suggested to us on more than 1 occasion we have spelt it incorrectly and it should be Neve 🙄)

Hope you find something you love in your search! I thought this may be a good starting point, Reuben maybe?

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Spain_international_footballers

Oh and obviously

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain_women%27s_national_football_team

Esther, Victoria, Jennifer? A few more I fail to recall!

GIRLS
Rosa
Gabriella