Thoughts on Paloma?

[Calixtine]

Paloma for an English girl? Is it too Spanish? Do you like it?

If you want a Spanish girls name the popular ones here, my DC are at primary school, are

Noa - pn like Noah
Alba
Mar - means sea
Claudia - pn Cloud-E-Ah
Aina - pn Eye-Nah
Nayeli
Nerea
Marta

I also think historically it only meant dove, but it has evolved and it's more pigeon now.

I think it became 'known' as a name after Picasso's DD. I've no idea how much it caught on in Spain, but it was definitely used there.

Is it just Paloma with no stress, or Pa-LO-ma?

I think it's a beautiful name op

I've lived in Spain for over a decade, 2 DC in school and I've never heard it as a name for kids or adults. It's the pigeon thing.

The only time I've seen it mentioned as a name is on here for UK based people.

Makes me think of Paloma Faith but i dont think thats a bad thing. I love her. I think its a lovely name.

Stress on the LO, Pa-LOW-ma.

Interesting.... @ruggarwoah i mean

Culturally a bit like when Shannon (the river) became popular as an Irish name in America but it never landed that well here. It had some popularity but in peak and trough and disappear way. I suspect. V pop in USA still.

I just asked DH if he's ever known anyone here called paloma, he works in a Spanish office. He said no, because it's a real old lady name here, like Ethel would be in the UK and he doesn't work with anyone that old. Now it's not a name for a person, it's just what winged rats are called. Our neighbours are over and they nodded in agreement.

In Spain it's always been a bit more popular in Madrid than anywhere else. You don't meet very many outside Madrid. In Spanish Dove and Pigeon are interchangeable as pp have said but the popularity of it as a name is definitely related to the biblical significance of Dove. They celebrate the Fiesta of the Virgen de la Paloma in August around the church of that name in Madrid.

Funnily enough it's very popular in Chile where girls' names these days are maybe s but frillier than they currently are in Spain.

Yes, twenty years ago, Spanish baby names seemed surprisingly plain and simple to my ear. It's subjective I know but at the time when Amelia and Isabella and Olivia and so on were taking off here, in contrast, the names popular in Spain were definitely not frilly. So I thought anyway.

I love it. I have a friend called Paloma and she is a lovely person, so I suppose I associate the name with her.

You're right Na names like Maite (My-teh), Noa etc have been popular in Spain recently. Quite simple sounds, devoid of flounce. Meanwhile in Chile Florencia, Paloma etc have been having a moment.

Really bizarre to call a pigeon a winged rat.

Maite is really popular with adults. 4 Of the DC's teachers have been called Maite, so I associate it with teachers Not a bad association, they were all lovely.

TatianaLarina Not really, they are talking about the dirty pigeons. Direct translations are sometimes funny, my dutch friend calls garden hoses 'water snakes' and kettles 'water cooker'