Cielo

[babysharkdoodoodedoodedoo]

Met a baby Cielo and was wondering why it wasn’t more popular. A dedication name for the Virgin Mary, and the Spanish word for ‘sky’, apparently. I thought it was beautiful but never heard it before! What do you think? Any idea why it’s not more popular?

Well it’s not a UK name, and it’s not used here enough to catch on / no on internationally famous is called it / it’s not the name of a character in a famous book, that’s why.

How do you pronounce it?

Is it a boy or a girl's nmae? Is it see-ello, seelo or thee-ello?

My DD’s friend is Cielo. We don’t live in the UK though.

How do you say it?

I would pronounce it as Chi-ello, sky in Italian.

I think the fact that nobody on this thread is sure how to pronounce it is a bit of a giveaway!!

I’d pronounce it the Italian way - effectively a bit like cello, the instrument, more or less. Means sky or heaven.

Is it popular in Spain? Latin America? I have some Spanish acquaintances and I've never encountered it.

If you're asking why it isn't popular in the UK; well, Spanish names in general haven't been very popular in the UK historically. Unless it's connected with a famous person or popular book/TV show then the general population will probably be unaware of it.

My first car was Cielo, loved that little thing

My first thought was Cielo Drive (Manson murders) but hopefully not many others will think of that!

It will cause pronunciation confusion as it's the same word in Italian and Spanish, but pronounced differently. I'd instinctively pronounce it the Italian way.

and I the Spanish!

The Virgin Mary is quite internationally famous 😁 but I know what you mean. It’s pronounced Cee-eh-lo

Me too, if I’m honest! 😁

Me too!

The ie in cielo is a diphthong, it’s pronounced in Spanish with a slight short yuh: Syehlo. It’s not drawn out as in see-eh-lo.

In Italian it is pronounced with a ch as in chair, not the K sound.

The couple I know with the baby Cielo are Spanish. I couldn’t think of any other way to write it to explain pronunciation!

Same here!

I get you OP, it’s not a sound found in English to my knowledge.

Name for a boy or a girl?

Spanish girls names almost always end in the feminine 'a' - Maria, Celia, Paloma, etc.

So the Virgin Mary thing is confusing because I'd expect an 'o' ending name to be for a boy? Who is also being named for the Virgin Mary...?

Seems to me the same as calling an English kid Sky - unusual, a bit hippy, not particularly lovely, not historically a human name!

Glad you loved it though :)

Exactly. I wouldn’t use a name that had two entirely different pronunciations in different European languages.

@SlideandPolka , but there are many names that are pronounced differently in two or more european languages. Anne, David, Thomas, Charles, Marie ...

I see your point but the word sky, cielo, is masculine.

It’s my DS’s GF name. She’s from South America.

I'm Mexican and I've heard the name "Cielo" for a girl but it's not that common.

However, "Araceli" is more commonly used which also means "Sky" but it's not associated with Mary.