Thoughts on Santiago

[KatRee]

Hi all- would like to get an idea of initial reaction to the name Santiago - thoughts?

Also, if there are any Spanish people reading, could you tell me if Tiago is typically used as a nickname, or would you say it's more a standalone name in its own right? I know Santi is the most typical nn, but would ideally like something with different options

Thanks in advance

@KatRee I know what you mean. Funnily, an earlier poster mentions Sinclair which, I'm pretty sure, was from St Clair but it's now a name in its own right.

Thanks for your clarification op. When I first posted I hadn’t realised your Dp was Spanish .Doh!

Thanks @GreatStuff67 what a smart idea!

Eva Longoria’s son is called Santiago known as Santi I think. If your husband is Spanish then definitely go for it!

I like it but it just reminds me of " Santiago sent me" on Impractical Jokers 😂

As your DH is Spanish it's an entirely appropriate and lovely name.

I'm not the only one then😄

I think it's a lovely name.

To my knowledge, Santiago is Spanish and Tiago is Portuguese. They're related names (derivatives of the Biblical James) but they aren't the same.

Lovely name and since you DH is Spanish I'd say go for it. I'm not sure how many people would ask about his heritage from the name and if they are it will probably be out of polite conversation/ easy way to start talking.

I read another PP saying that Santiago is the equivalent to St James - I don't know if that's true, but James is actually Jaime.

Santiago to me sounds like a middle-aged man, but I have no clue what's trendy now, and either way it doesn't matter. My name was trendy in the 90s in Spain and very common among women my age, whereas in the UK it's an old lady's name, so who knows what's cool and what isn't.

If you like a name, go for it. For alternatives of boy names that would sound the same in both language's, you have Alberto, Arturo, Lucas, Luis, Antonio...

@iloveorange , Iago is James too. Jacob means the same as James.

Love it!

I lived in Spain and never met a Spanish Tiago, I did meet Portuguese Tiagos so you’d be better asking Portuguese people about Tiago.

I have a Diego. Diego / Santiago / Iago / James / Jacob / Ya'akov are all variations on the same thing

Thanks for the comments everyone

@SwedishEdith That's interesting about Saint Claire/Sinclair- particularly as it's used as a boy's name!

@Neurodiverse @LT2 - had to Google impractical jokers as hadn't seen before! I think it's probably something I can live with. I guess this is a risk of using names that aren't common in the UK - if people have only ever heard it in one context, they'll forever associate it with that. So we'd have to hope no one called Santiago ever becomes famous here for a really horrible or embarrassing reason...

@iloveorange yeah, it's interesting how the same names come in and out of style in different countries. Also I think when it's a name that doesn't exist in your own language, you're just really focused on the actual sound it makes and you don't have any of the connotations around associating with a certain type of person, so it's hard to judge how it will be received. My DP has suggested British names that I would never use as can't imagine anyone under 50 with them and I've done the same with one or two Spanish names...opinion seems a bit split on Santiago though, with several people saying they know Santiagos of all ages, including children

I quite like some of your suggestions too - you understand what we are looking for- a Spanish name that English people won't completely mispronounce ( or an English name that would be read correctly in Spain). So all J names - Jaime, James, Jorge, Joseph etc are completely out!

@elenacampana no, I never met a Spanish Tiago either, but DP tells me it's starting to be used as a baby name in Spain, so apparently there are some young ones (sometimes spelled Thiago, I think) I've been told a few times now though that it's definitely not used as a nn for Santiago, which seems odd to me as they are historically from the same name I believe and 'Tiago' is right there in the name Santiago, but apparently it just doesn't work like that.

I did want a name with more that one nn option, but I really like the nn Santi, so that's probably what I'd use for him
anyway

DP likes Tiago and also Diego, but I told him I think a lot of people here will automatically think of Diego Maradona, who was considered a bit of a villain here as a lot of people have super long memories when in comes to football!

I just also really love that DP has the personal connection to Santiago de Compostela, so it feels like a name with meaning for us.