Spanish names - Names From Europe's Hot Spot

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Pablo, Carmen, Sergio or Diego are some of the most popular given names in one of the most popular tourist destination in recent years – Spain. Read more about the hot new trend.

Spain is much more than bull fighting, sangria and flamenco. Throughout history, Spain was one of the most influential countries, spreading from Europe to South America and Africa. Spanish is the official language of 21 nations and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

The popularity of Spain as a tourist destination is growing as millions of visitors come to see the Gaudi buildings in Barcelona, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao or just to enjoy the local tapas bars.

Spanish names, like the language, are derived from Latin. The language belongs to the Romance language branch that includes French, Italian, Catalan, Romanian and Portuguese. Therefore, many names are similar to all of these languages, with a difference in the way they are pronounced. Spanish names tend to be more easily pronounced and some of the names "roll" off the tongue. The name Alex for example, is derived from Alejandro, Rosario, Marcelo or Raul.

In Spanish a name can be used by both sexes by adding an "A" for a girl or an "O" for a boy. Some of these names are Gabrielo and Gabriela, Antonio and Antonia, Francisco and Francesca.

Spanish names are usually composed of a surname and two last names, for example the original name of Hollywood actress Penelope Cruz is Penelope Cruz Sanchez.
The assimilation of Spanish rooted culture in the US, called "Latin" culture," due to the success of actors such as Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banedras and Xavier Bardem and internationally acclaimed artist and directors such as Pedro Almodovar have positioned the Spanish people as hot, trendy and sought out in every red carpet event.

The Spanish are regarded as passionate people. Spanish is considered the "language of love" and so are the names. Spanish names can be pronounced with great passion and are sensual. Salvador, Ciro, Carlos and Eduardo for a boy, and Alicia, Isabel, Laura (pronounced Lao-Ra) for a girl sound exotic and strong.

Almost every Spanish name has a nickname which in a lot of cases becomes the name that the person is known as. Alfonso can be named Fonso, Fonsi or Poncho; Carmen can be diverted to Carmencha, Carmencita or Carmelita.

One of the main factors for the popularity of Spanish names is that these names are not alien to English, German or even Arabic speaking people. The Spanish empire was a Christian empire and a lot of the names are Christian, Catholic and Biblical. Delilah is Spanish as it is Hebrew or Nigerian. Along with England, Spain was the most influential empire in the last five hundred years.

Spain is considered the motherland of many Latin American peoples and even though Spanish imperialism has ended, Spain is considered the center of Latin culture.
Spanish names are inspired by the running of bulls in Pamplona, the ancient cities in the Andalucía region, the imperial atmosphere of Madrid and the spirit of Don Quixote.
Who knows, maybe your baby can grow up to be the next Pablo Picasso!