Unlike English, since last names are a little more complex in Spanish, the King of Spanish (fictitious character) who invented Spanish, produced a whole verb that goes along with last names which is “appellidarse”.

Now I will explain how last names work in Spanish. Everyone in Spanish has two last names: the first one is from their father (paternal), and the second is from their mother (maternal). Let’s say for example I was born into a Latin home and my “nombre de pila” was “Juan”, and my segundo nombre (middle name) was “Gabriel”. So this would make my name “Juan Gabriel…”. Next, if my father’s name was “Felipe Paco Garcia Lopez”, his paternal last name – “Garcia” would be included as my initial or paternal last name. I would now be known as “Juan Gabrial Garcia…”. Finally, if my mother’s name was “María Juana Fernandez Martinez”, I would take on her paternal last name – “Fernandez”, and add it on as my final last name. So finally, my official name would now be, “Juan Gabriel Garcia Fernandez”. Learn Spanish to increase your chances to have a last name like these.

In the above scenario, women generally don’t alter their last names when they get married; however, they sometimes add their husbands paternal last name after the word “de”. Take a look at the graphic (below) for an example of how this all works:

You may be wondering why they have or use two surnames in Spanish. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure; if anyone knows, please enlighten us. However, it sure can make things a lot less confusing for some people. For example, there are three people found in my city named “David Clark”. One of them even has the same middle initial as me. People have confused us before, but if I used my mother’s maiden name after my last name, like they do in Spanish; it would help to eliminate the confusion.

One of the challenges Latin people have, when moving to countries like the United States, is how to address their last names. On most forms and official records, we only allow one surname. As a solution, some Latin families choose the father’s paternal surname as their “U.S.” surname, while others may hyphenate both of their surnames: “Garcia-Davila”.

Now, to wrap up our lessons on names, let’s look at the top 20 Spanish surnames, according to pdom.com/spanish_names.htm:
Rank Name Population
1 Garcia 744,000
2 Fernandez 503,000
3 Lopez 451,000
4 Martinez 433,000
5 Gonzalez 433,000
6 Rodriguez 432,000
7 Sanchez 405,000
8 Perez 404,000
9 Martin 247,000
10 Gomez 232,000
11 Ruiz 186,000
12 Diaz 171,000
13 Hernandez 160,000
14 Alvarez 159,000
15 Jimenez 154,000
16 Moreno 144,000
17 Munoz 123,000
18 Alonso 115,000
19 Romero 97,000
20 Navarro 90,000

Moral of the Story: Although figuring out Spanish surnames can appear to be confusing, once you get the hang of it, it’s not that bad – it’s just different. In some cases, like for me personally in the U.S., the extra last name would help to avoid confusion.

Sneak peek at next week: “The Cold-Fish and Forearm Handshakes”

¡Hasta luego! (“Until later!”)

David S. Clark — President / Director
U.S. Institute of Languages

According to the National Public Registry of a Latin American country, the names “María” and “José” are the most common first names in Spanish. They’re followed by “Luz” (female name) and “Juan”. It is thought that these names are the most common due to the religious nature of Latin Americans; both names are very prominent in the Bible.

In English, there are some names that are still used but may be considered somewhat outdated or maybe a little less popular. A specific first name I am thinking of is “Olga”. We don’t hear that name as much any more and it’s not on the “top ten” list of most popular names. The interesting thing is that in Spanish, the name “Olga” is a commonly heard name. It is not considered outdated and is fairly popular and well-liked. You may need to learn Spanish to increase your chances to meet some people with these names.

Here is an example of some of fun outdated names that most Latin American kids wouldn’t want to be named. A few close Latin American acquaintances told me about these names. These names are “Tiburcia” and “Anacleta”. There is also a male counterpart: “Tiburcio” and “Anacleto”. Now that you have this powerful and possibly dangerous information, you need to be cautious. I wouldn’t suggest going around calling people these names. There are still individuals that have and use them that could get offended.

Next let’s examine a few crossover names from English to Spanish. This is not necessarily an all-inclusive list and some of the crossover names have been debated, but here they are:
Female Names Male Names
Spanish English Spanish English
María Mary José Joseph
Catalina Katherine Juan John
Débora Deborah David David
Elena Helen Adán Adam
Blanca (literally means “white”) Blanch Alejandro Alexander
Esperanza Hope Alfredo Alfred
Estela Estelle Andrés Andrew
Eva Eve Benjamín Benjamin
Inés Agnes Bernardo Bernard
Leonor Eleanor Carlos Charles
Margarita Margaret Ceaser César (common Spanish name)
Marta Martha Cristián Christian
Matilde Matilda Cristóbal Christopher
Milagros Miracles Santiago James
Mónica Monica Eduardo Edward
Natalia Natalie Enrique Henry
Noemi Naomi Estéban Steven
Olimpia Olympia Federico Frederick
Perla Pearl Felipe Phillip
Priscila Priscilla Geraldo Gerald
Raquel Rachel Guillermo William
Rebeca Rebecca Marcos Mark
Rita Rita Mateo Matthew
Rosalina Rosalyn Miguel Michael
Rut Ruth Pablo Paul
Sara Sarah Pedro Peter
Silvia Sylvia Ramón or Raimundo Raymond
Sofía Sophie Ricardo Richard
Susana Susanna Roberto Robert
Teresa Theresa Tomás Thomas
Verónica Veronica Wilfredo Wilfred
Viviana Vivian Víctor Victor

Spanish Nicknames
Finally, we’ll take a look at some Spanish nicknames that people are often called because of their name. For example, I have an Uncle Richard and we all call him “Dick”. Another English example is when “Robert” is addressed as “Bob”.
Spanish Nicknames
Spanish Name Spanish Nickname
Adela (f) Adelina
Ana (f) Anita
Carlos (m) Carlitos
Carla (f) Carlota
David (m) Davico
Rosario (f) Charo
Consuelo (f) Chelo
Jesús (m) -common Spanish name Chucho
Concepeión (f) Concha
Concha (f) Conchita
Eva (f) Evita
Gracia (f) Graciela
Juana (f) Juanita
Juan (m) Juanito
Eduardo (m) Lalo
Dolores (f) Lola
Guadalupe (f) Lupita
Manuel (m) Manolo
Ignacio (m) Nacho
Francicso (m) Paco or Pancho
José (m) Pepe or Pepito
Pilar (f) Pili
Enrique (m) Quique
Rosa (f) Rosita
Sara (f) Sarita
Margarita (f) Margaret

Moral of the Story: Names are very important in any language. If you have not already, see if your name crosses over to Spanish.

Sneak peek at next week: “Spanish Names – Part II”

¡Hasta luego! (“Until later!”)
David S. Clark — President / Director
!