Babies Names In Spanish
For Cherished Children

This page introduces Babies Names In Spanish, explaining about their origins, the use of Saint´s or Name days, plus all about Christian and surnames.

At the bottom of the page, you will find links leading to other pages, which give lists of both girls´ and boys´ Spanish names, along with their meanings in English.

I hope you find some that appeal to you for there are many really beautiful baby spanish names, several having meanings just as lovely as they sound.

And the babies in Spain look so gorgeous - more often than not, dark-haired and dark-eyed - and it´s easy to tell the difference as the little girls sport pretty earrings in their tiny ears!

Babies Names In Spanish - Christian Names/Surnames

The Spanish usually have one Christian name and two surnames.

The Christian name is sometimes a double-barrelled one - for example the popular girl´s name María José and the equally popular boy´s name Juan Carlos.

Unlike many countries, the Spanish possess two surnames.

This is because, when a girl marries, she does not give up her surname but keeps it and just adds her husband´s surname.

The two surnames are then passed on to the children.

Babies Names In Spanish - Saints/Name Days

As Spain is a Roman Catholic country, a lot of importance has always been placed on a person´s Saint´s Day or Name Day.

In the past, they were more important than birthdays and Babies Names In Spanish often reflect this fact.

Saint´s Days or Name Days are celebrated on particular days of the year, mainly because the Church holds a festival for a particular saint of that name.

Gifts and cards used to be given to a person on this day, although this practice is gradually decreasing and the birthday becoming the more important celebration.

Babies Names In Spanish - Origins

1. Biblical

As with other Christian countries, many Babies Names In Spanish in use to-day originate from the Bible.

In Spain, an important source has always been the names of famous saints or martyrs, the Church strongly encouraging the giving of saintly names to children.

Some of these saints appear in the New Testament, where the names are generally either Hebrew - for example Juan and María - or Greek - such as Lucas or Pedro.

There are also many Spanish equivalents of names from the Old Testament, such as the male Adán (Adam) and Davíd (David) and the female Eva (Eve) and Rut (Ruth).

These are predominantly of Hebrew origin.

Being a Roman Catholic country, there is also a class of feminine Babies Names In Spanish which are given in honor of the Virgin Mary.

Some, such as Dolores and Mercedes are taken from titles of Mary, whilst others such as Concepción and Anunciación refer to events in her life.

2. From Countries Occupying Spain

During its long history Spain has, from time-to-time, been occupied by other countries.

At one time, a great deal of the country came under Arab and Moslem rule whilst, later on, German tribes were present.

The influence of these countries and their peoples still remains - for example ... several Babies Names In Spanish.

Carlos, Luís and Matilda are Spanish equivalents of names adopted from the Germanic tribes.

The female name Almudena (as in the Cathedral of Almudena, Madrid, where the Spanish Prince Felipe recently married his true love - Letizia) is derived from the Arabic al-madinat, meaning the city.

The Virgin of Almudena, ie Mary, is the Patron Saint of Madrid.

3. Mythology and Literature

As with many other countries, mythology and literature have left their mark and contributed some Babies Names In Spanish, for example Beatriz and Melissa.

4. Tourism and Foreign Residents

The great influx of foreigners to Spain in more recent years has also left its mark on Babies Names In Spanish with present-day Spaniards adopting some of the more modern names used in other countries, in particular of course, names of cinema or pop stars!

Now you know their origins, I´m sure you´re impatient to go through lists of actual Babies Names In Spanish along with English meanings. You´ll find the links below.

For a list of Spanish Baby Names for GIRLS, please click here.

For a list of Spanish Baby Names for BOYS, please click here.

Lyrics of Happy Birthday To You in Spanish

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