Does Marta work for a Spanish character or seem too old-fashioned?

[FLAMENCOQUEEN]

I love the name Marta, as i have a family friend called that (and she's lovely!), but i worry that it might look weird using a name considered "old lady". however, i hear it's very popular in spain, and my character will be spanish, so that's already a positive, wdyt???? thanks! (i decided to move here as i saw my previous category was mismatched)

Several Martas in my primary school currently, doesn't seem 'old lady' at all to me, it's a nice name.

Depends on the era you're setting your writing in.

I looked it up and it does appear to be an established name used in Spain but the only Marta (without an h) I know is German where it also seems to be not uncommon. I think @Petrine has a point worth following up on if you want authenticity. Maybe find some other fiction books written or set in the same time period and look at the character names.

I know a Portuguese Marta who's in her 30s so I wouldn't have thought it super old fashioned.

Well, that’s going to depend in part on whether your character is a 15 year old girl in 1899 or an octogenarian in 2026, surely? Who is this character? How old is she? What social class is she from?

Are you the same poster who kept posting about Spanish names on the Baby Names forum? Just get on with writing your book! Give your character a placeholder name for now. You can change it at any point.

The only Marta that I know personally is a 20-something Spaniard.

My vets called Marta and she’s Spanish. I’d say she was late 20s/early 30s.

I know a 20 something spanish Marta irl. So works well imo.

I know a few Martas, ranging from 20s to 40s. Quite a timeless name.

just look up popular girls' names in Spain for the approximate year your character was born in

Spanish, Catalan or Basque?

So which is it, OP? You were always spamming the Baby names board with vaguely Spanish sounding names, though specifying you were not pregnant -- now you're naming a literary character? Or just pretending to, as you haven't provided any information that would allow anyone to determine whether it was a good name for a character or not...

Hang on a minute, it’s only a couple of days since Carla was the fave Spanish name…? We’ve so far been asked for thoughts on -

Ariadna
Neelam
Martina
Carolina
Lorena
Priyanka
Alejandra
Monisha
Luisa

I’m genuinely puzzled. And - frankly - nosy. It seems like an odd preoccupation to have, and the op rarely engages with her threads, so…? I know, I know, I need to get a life, but it’s intriguing me!

I mean... if you don't know much about Spanish society/culture, maybe you shouldn't be creating a Spanish character...? Guessing doesn't really cut it.

I currently work with a Spanish Marta from Seville. She is in her early to mid twenties.

I know a Marta, she's Spanish and is probably in her mid to late 40s.