Latin is a beautiful language, famous for its conciseness and pleasant sound. Names in this language are like that – short, succinct and beautiful.

The meaning of ancient Roman female names is clarified by history. The fact is that in ancient Rome it was not customary for women to be given personal names. Names in this language are like that – short, succinct and beautiful. All female Latin names that have come down to us bear the imprint of the Roman family name. We offer you an article about Latin names for girls.

Features of naming girls

It is necessary to talk about what female Latin names are, since they do not correspond to the modern idea of ​​names and can confuse someone. In late republican and imperial times, women did not have personal names at all and used generic ones.

Simply put, all women in a clan had the same name, and within this clan they differed in seniority. If the family name is, say, Caeciliae (Cecilia), then the first girl in the clan is called Caeciliae Maior (Cecilia the Elder). The next oldest girl is called Caeciliae Secunda, that is, Cecilia the second. Numerals are attached to each subsequent Caeciliae, and so on until the youngest girl at the moment, whose name is Caeciliae Minor. that is, Cecilia the Younger.

Noble women, as a rule, bore, in addition to the clan name, the cognomen of their father (cognomen is the third male name that served as an individual nickname. Plebeian clans as a rule did not have a cognomen), and all names were converted into a feminine form.

For example, Marcus Livius Drusus Claudian had a daughter, Caecilia. Since Drusus is the cognomen of her father, the girl goes by the name Caecilia Drusilla.

List of beautiful options and their meaning

So we found out that female Latin names are ultimately a direct derivative of male names. Below is a list of different Latin girl names.

Personal

This is a list of personal names that have been converted to the feminine form.

Generic

These are names that were borne by an entire family.

If a name is plebeian, this does not make it worse, or the bearer of the name defective. In ancient Rome, “plebeians” were completely free citizens from the lower classes who did not have political and civil rights.

This word comes from a word meaning “people”, and initially it did not carry such a negative meaning as it does now.

• Aburia– the meaning is not clear. The name is generic for plebeians. Due to the impossibility of establishing etymology, it is difficult to judge the meaning of the name.
• Acerronia- perhaps from the word “censer”, “box for incense”. Plebeian. Acerronia is wise and unusual, quite quiet, but perhaps has a tendency to become overly religious.
• Akkolea– perhaps from the word “neighbor”. Akkolea is sweet and friendly, responsive, always ready to help, and without hesitation she will rush to save a person in trouble.
• Actoria- “active”. Aktoria is very active and hardworking; she has been keeping her hands busy since childhood. She is ready to work hard and does it very, very effectively.
• Auction- “sharp.” Plebeian. Acutia is intelligent and sharp-tongued, but can be unfriendly and vindictive. It is difficult to find an approach to her, and anyone who wants to communicate with her will have to study her thoroughly and play on her most hidden feelings and qualities, and only when this person knows her better than himself, he will be able to be intimate with her. really close.
• Elia– perhaps from “sun”. Plebeian. Elia is cheerful and active, energetic.
• Emilia- from the word “rival”. Patrician, plebeian. Emilia is vindictive and cunning, but has good intelligence. She doesn’t ignore people she doesn’t like, but certainly labels them as enemies, which prevents her from concentrating on her own personality and her own goals.
• Albinia– probably “white”. Plebeian. Albinia is bright and friendly, open and sincere.
• Antisia- “stand ahead”, “surpass”. This is a girl with pronounced leadership qualities and fighting spirit, possessing eloquence.
• Antonia- “meet, collide” or “flower”. Antonia is interesting, cheerful and open, always ready to make contact.
• Aquilia- "eagle". Patrician, plebeian. Aquillia is very sharp-tongued and smart, as well as wise, she can touch anyone's heartstrings, but she will not use it, because she does not like to hurt people.
• Avita- “grandfathers, ancient, hereditary.” There's an old spirit in this girl somewhere. Most likely, she will be romantic and dreamy, and will be interested in something unusual like historical reconstruction or collecting antiques.
• Bucculea- “cheek, mouth.” Bucculea is shy and pretty, but perhaps stupid and cares about its appearance to the detriment of caring about its personality.
• Domitia- “tamed, domesticated.” Plebeian. The name speaks for itself. Domitia is submissive, obedient, quiet, and all this is not in the best sense.
• Duilia- perhaps from an archaism meaning war. Plebeian. Duilia is mysterious and warlike.
• Kalidia- “hot, ardent.” Plebeian. The meaning speaks for itself: Kalidia is passionate, and she is also easy to get angry. She is all ablaze when it comes to a question that interests her, and she supports any conversation that is pleasant for her with lively, passionate interest.
• Kania– “gray, gray-haired” or “dog”. In Kania’s eyes there is aristocracy and wisdom, strange for her age. She interests people, and if she has something to tell, she will tell it slowly and not to everyone.
• Cassia- "empty". Patrician, plebeian. Cassia seems strange to others. She may experience uncertainty in finding herself and her calling, and be very tormented because of this.
• Claudia- “limping.” Patrician, plebeian. Claudia is active and talented, but suffers because her loved ones do not accept her talent for some reason.
• Cornelia– probably from the word “horn”. Patrician, plebeian. Cornelia is energetic and resourceful, knows how to stand up for herself and is not afraid to do so.
• Libya- “turn blue”, “cast blue”. Plebeian. Libya is mysterious and attractive, interesting and smart.
• Metzia– the meaning is not clear. Plebeian. Characteristics cannot be determined due to unknown value.
• Cecilia- “blind”. Plebeian Cecilia is active, cheerful, but somewhat naive, unable to recognize lies and deception.
• Tseditsiya- “beat, chop, cut.” Plebeian. Tseditsiya is a born warrior. She is active, strong-willed and intelligent, with the ability to make tactical calculations. Perhaps she will develop a talent for sports and chess.
• Celia- "sky". Plebeian. Celia is outgoing, but isn't very good at talking to people. However, he has natural charm.
• Cesium- “blue, gray-blue”, “blue-eyed”. Plebeian. Cesia is smart, but her natural shyness prevents her from demonstrating her intelligence, so in the eyes of others she can be boring and simple.
• Juventia- “youth, youth.” Plebeian. Juventia seems to be forever young and openly enjoys it. She is smart, charming and active.

Names of Roman citizens

Male names

In classical times, a full Roman male name usually consisted of three components: a personal name, or praenomen ( praenomen), generic name, or nomen ( nomen), and an individual nickname or name of a branch of the clan, cognomen ( cognomen).

Prenomen

The personal name was similar to the modern male name. The Romans used a small number of personal names (18 names out of a total of 72); as a rule, they were of such ancient origin that in the classical era the significance of most of them was forgotten. In inscriptions, personal names were almost always written abbreviated (1-3 letters).

Common Roman personal names

Prenomen	Reduction	Note
Appius	App.	Appius; According to legend, this name comes from Sabine Atta and was brought to Rome by birth Klavdiev
Aulus	A. or Avl.	Avl; existed in common parlance archaic form Olus, so this name can also be abbreviated ABOUT.
Decimus	D. or Dec.	Decim; archaic Decumos; from the ordinal number "tenth"
Gaius	C.	Guy; very rarely abbreviated as G.
Gnaeus	Cn.	Gney; archaic form Gnaivos; very rarely abbreviated as Gn.; there are forms Naevus, Naeus
Kaeso	TO.	Quezon
Lucius	L.	Lucius; archaic Loucios
Mamercus	Mam.	Mamerk; Name Osko origin, used only in the Emilian family
Manius	M`.	Mania; the comma-shaped sign in the upper right corner is the remainder of the five-line outline of the letter M
Marcus	M.	Mark; there is a spelling Marqus
Numerius	N.	Numerius; Oscan origin
Publius	P.	Publius; archaic Poblios, abbreviated as Po.
Quintus	Q.	Quint; in common parlance Cuntus, meet Quinctus, Quintulus; from the ordinal number "fifth"
Servius	Ser.	Servius
Sextus	Sex.	Sextus; from the ordinal number "sixth"
Spurius	S. or Sp.	Spurius; can also be used not as a praenomen, but in its original meaning “illegitimate”
Titus	T.	Titus
Tiberius	Ti. or Tib.	Tiberius

Other personal names were rarely used and were usually written in full: Agrippa, Ancus, Annius, Aruns, Atta, Cossus, Denter, Eppius, Faustus, Fertor, Herius, Hospolis, Hostus, Lar, Marius, Mesius, Mettus, Minatius, Minius, Nero, Novius, Numa, Opiter, Opiavus, Ovius, Pacvius (Paquius), Paullus, Pescennius (Percennius), Petro, Plancus, Plautus, Pompo, Popidius, Postumus, Primus, Proculus, Retus, Salvius, Secundus, Sertor, Statius, Servius, Tertius, Tirrus, Trebius, Tullus, Turus, Volero, Volusus, Vopiscus. Personal name Pupus(boy) was used only in relation to children.

The boy received a personal name on the eighth or ninth day after birth. There was a tradition of giving a personal name only to the four eldest sons, and the rest could be given ordinal numbers as a personal name: Quintus(fifth), Sextus(sixth), Septimus (seventh), Octavius ​​(eighth), and Decimus (tenth). Over time, these names became commonly used (that is, they turned into personal names), and as a result, a person bearing the name Sextus was not necessarily the sixth son in the family. As an example, we can recall the commander Sextus Pompey, the second son of a member of the first triumvirate, Gnaeus Pompey the Great, who fought for a long time against Julius Caesar.

Often the eldest son received his father's praenomen. IN 230 BC e. this tradition was consolidated by decree Senate, so that the father’s personal name began, as a rule, to pass to the eldest son. For example, the emperor Octavian Augustus bore, like his great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father, the name Guy.

In some clans a limited number of personal names were used. For example, the Cornelians Scipionov there were only Gnaeus, Lucius and Publius, the Claudius Nero had only Tiberius and Decimus, the Domitius Ahenobarbi had only Gnaeus and Lucius.

The criminal's personal name could be forever excluded from the family to which he belonged; for this reason in patrician the Claudian family did not use the name Lucius, and the patrician Manliev family did not use the name Mark. By decree of the Senate, the name Mark was forever excluded from the Antonian family after the fall triumvir Mark Antony.

Nomen

Origin and suffixes of generic names

Origin	Ending	Examples
Roman	-ius	Tullius, Julius
	-is	Caecilis
	-i	Caecili
Sabine- Osko	-enus	Alfenus, Varenus
Umbrian	-as	Maenas
	-anas	Mafenas
	-enas	Asprenas, Maecenas
	-inas	Carrinas, Fulginas
Etruscan	-arna	Mastarna
	-erna	Perperna, Calesterna
	-enna	Sisenna, Tapsenna
	-ina	Caecina, Prastina
	-inna	Spurinna

The generic name was the name of the clan and corresponded approximately to the modern surname. It was indicated in the form of a masculine adjective and ended in the classical era with -ius: Tullius- Tullius (from the Tullian family), Julius- Julius (from the Julius family); in republican time there are also endings -is, -i. Generic names of non-Roman origin had endings different from those named.

In inscriptions, family names are usually written in full; In imperial times, only the names of very famous families were abbreviated: Aelius - Ael., Antonius - Ant. or Anton., Aurelius - Avr., Claudius - Cl. or Clavd., Flavius - Fl. or Fla., Julius - I. or Ivl., Pompeius - Pomp., Valerius - Val., Ulpius - Vlp.

Total number of generic names, by Varro, reached a thousand. Most family names are of such ancient origin that their meaning has been forgotten. Only a few make sense: Asinius from asinus(donkey), Caelius from caecus(blind), Caninius from canis(dog), Decius from decem(ten), Fabius from faba(bean), Nonius from nonus(ninth), Octavius from octavus(eighth), Ovidius from ovis(sheep), Porcius from porca(pig), Septimius from septimus(seventh), Sextius And Sextilius from sextus(sixth), Suillius from suilla(pork).

From the 1st century BC e., when the prerequisites for the transition from a republican form of government to autocracy appeared in Rome, those who seized supreme power began to justify their rights to power by their descent from ancient kings and heroes. Julius Caesar, for example, indicated that his paternal family goes back to the gods: Jupiter - Venus - Aeneas - Yul - the Julius family, and through his mother to the kings: from Ancus Marcius descended the Marcii Rexes (lat. rex- tsar).

Cognomen

An individual nickname once given to one of the representatives of the clan was often passed on to descendants and became the name of a family or a separate branch of the clan: Cicero- Cicero, Caesar- Caesar. For example, the families of the Scipios, Rufini, Lentuli, etc. belonged to the Cornelian clan. The presence of a cognomen is not necessary, and in some plebeian clans (Marii, Antoniev, Octavian, Sertorii, etc.) personal nicknames, as a rule, were absent. However, the absence of a cognomen was an exception to the rule, since many of the families of Rome were of such ancient origin that each of them had several branches.

Since the father's personal name passed on to the eldest son, in order to distinguish the son from the father, it was necessary to use a third name. The inscriptions include Lucius Sergius the First, Quintus Aemilius the Second; in one inscription the grandfather, son and grandson are named Quintus Fulvius Rusticus, Quintus Fulvius Attianus and Quintus Fulvius Carisianus.

Cognomen arose much later than personal and generic names, so their meaning is clear in most cases. They can talk about the origin of the family (the Fufis moved to Rome from the Campanian town of Cales and therefore had a cognomen Calenus), about memorable events (a cognomen appeared in the plebeian family of Mutsiev Scaevola(left-handed) after 508 BC. e. during the war with the Etruscans, Gaius Mucius burned his hand in the fire of a brazier, which made the enemies and their king Porsenna tremble), about appearance ( Crassus- thick, Laetus- obese, Macer- thin, Celsus- high, Paullus- short, Rufus- ginger, Strabo- cross-eyed, Nasica- sharp-nosed, etc.), about character ( Severus- cruel, Probus- honest, Lucro- glutton, etc.).

Agnomen

There were cases when one person had two nicknames, the second of which was called agnomen (lat. agnomen). The appearance of the agnomen is partly due to the fact that the eldest son often inherited all three of his father’s names, and thus there were several people with the same names in one family. For example, the famous orator Marcus Tullius Cicero's father and son were also Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Agnomen was most often a personal nickname if the cognomen was hereditary. Sometimes a Roman received an agnomen for some special merit. Publius Cornelius Scipio in honor of the victory he won over Hannibal V Africa V 202 BC e., began to be called solemnly African (lat. Africanus, Wed nicknames of Russian commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Suvorov Rymniksky, Potemkin Tauride). Lucius Aemilius Paullus got a nickname Macedonicus for the victory over the Macedonian king Perseus in 168 BC e. The dictator Sulla himself added agnomen to his name Felix(happy), so his full name became Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix. Agnomen Felix turned from a personal nickname into a hereditary one (consul 52 n. e. Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix).

As a rule, members of ancient and noble families, numbering many branches and cognomen, had agnomen. In such genera, the cognomen sometimes almost merged with the generic name and was used inseparably with it to name the genus. The famous plebeian family of the Caecilians ( Caecilii) had an ancient cognomen Metellus, whose meaning has been forgotten. This cognomen seemed to merge with the name of the genus, which became known as Caecilia Metella. Naturally, almost all members of this family had an agnomen.

The patrician family of Cornelii had many branches. One of the members of this clan received the nickname Scipio(rod, stick), because he was the guide of his blind father and served him, as it were, instead of a staff. Cognomen Scipio secured to his descendants, over time the Cornelia Scipios took a prominent place in their family and received agnomens. IN III century BC e. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio received the agnomen Asina(donkey) for bringing a donkey loaded with gold to the Forum as collateral. The nickname Asina passed to his son Publius ( Publius Cornelius Scipio Asina). Another representative of the Cornelian Scipios received the nickname Nasica(sharp-nosed), which passed on to his descendants and began to serve as the name of the branch of the clan, so that in the Cornelian family, the Scipioni Nazis stood out from the Scipio branch. Naturally, the Scipios Nazis received a third cognomen as an individual nickname, so that the full name could already consist of five names: Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, consul 138 BC e.; nickname Serapio(from the Egyptian god Serapis) was given to him by the people's tribune Curiatius for his resemblance to a dealer in sacrificial animals.

Some people had two family names; this was the result of adoption. According to Roman customs, the adopted person took the personal name, family name and cognomen of the one who adopted him, and retained his family name in a modified form with the suffix -an-, which took the place of the agnomen. Gaius Octavius, the future emperor Augustus, after his adoption by Gaius Julius Caesar received the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus- Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian.

Female names

In late republican and imperial times, women did not have personal names; a female name was the feminine form of a generic name: Tullia- Tullia (from the Tullian family, for example, daughter Mark of Tullius Cicero), Julia- Julia (from the Yuliev family, for example, daughter Guy Julius Caesar), Cornelia- Cornelia (from the Cornelian family, for example, daughter Publius Cornelius Scipio). Since all women in one clan had the same name, within the clan they differed in age. When another daughter appeared in the family, a prenomen was added to the name of both: Minor(younger) and Major(older); other sisters were nicknamed Secunda(second), Tertia(third), Quintilla(fifth), etc.; prenomen Minor was with the youngest.

A married woman kept her name, but her husband's cognomen was added to it: Cornelia, filia Cornelii, Gracchi- Cornelia, daughter of Cornelia, (wife) of Gracchus.

Noble women could bear, in addition to the family name, the cognomen of their father; for example, Sulla's wife was the daughter of Lucius Caecilius Metella Dalmatica and was called Caecilia Metella, the wife of Emperor Augustus was the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudian and was called Livia Drusilla.

In the inscriptions with the names of women, the praenomen and cognomen of the father are sometimes indicated, as well as the cognomen of the husband in the clan. case: Caeciliae, Q(uinti) Cretici f(iliae), Metellae, Crassi (uxori)- Caecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus Creticus, (wife) of Crassus. From the inscription it follows that this woman was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus and the wife of Crassus. The inscription is made on a large round mausoleum near Rome on Appian Way, in which Caecilia Metella, daughter of the consul, is buried 69 BC e., wife of Crassus, presumably the eldest son of the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus.

Slave names

IN ancient times slaves did not have individual names. Legally, slaves were considered children of the master and had the same rights as all members of the family. This is how archaic slave names were formed, composed of the personal name of the master, the father of the surname, and the word puer(boy, son): Gaipor, Lucipor, Marcipor, Publipor, Quintipor, Naepor (Gnaeus = Naeos + puer), Olipor (Olos- archaic form of personal name Aulus).

With the rise of slavery, the need arose for personal names for slaves. Most often, slaves retained the name they bore when they still lived as free people. Very often, Roman slaves had names of Greek origin: Alexander, Antigonus, Hippocrates, Diadumen, Museum, Felodespot, Philocalus, Philonicus, Eros, etc. Greek names were sometimes given to barbarian slaves.

A slave's name could indicate his origin or place of birth: Dacus- Dacian, Corinthus- Corinthian, Sir (native Syria), Gallus (native Gaul), Frix (from Phrygia); found in inscriptions are slaves with the name Peregrinus- foreigner.

Slaves were also given the names of mythical heroes: Achilles , Hector; names of plants or stones: Adamant, Sardonicus, etc. Instead of a name, a slave could have the nickname “First”, “Second”, “Third”.

It is known that the slave lot in Rome was very difficult, but this did not in any way affect the names of slaves who do not have mocking nicknames. On the contrary, slaves have names Felix And Faustus(happy). Obviously, these nicknames, which became names, were received only by those slaves whose lives were relatively successful. The inscriptions mention: Faustus, the baker of Tiberius Germanicus, and Faustus, the manager of the perfume shop of his master Popilius, Felix, who was in charge of the jewelry of Gaius Caesar, another Felix, the manager of the estates of Tiberius Caesar, and another Felix, an overseer in the wool weaving workshops of Messalina; the daughters of one slave from the house of Caesars were called Fortunata and Felitsa.

The name is often found among slaves Ingenus or Ingenuus(freeborn). Slaves born into slavery have names Vitalio And Vitalis(tenacious).

There were no hard and fast rules regarding slave names. Therefore, when buying a slave in an official document, his name was accompanied by the clause “or by whatever other name he may be called” (lat. sive is quo alio nomine est).

In the inscriptions after the name of the slave, the name of the master in the genitive case and the nature of the slave’s occupation are indicated. After the master's name there is the word servus(slave) is always abbreviated ser, very rarely s, it can also stand between two cognomen of the master; There is no strict word order at all. The word "slave" is often completely absent; as a rule, slaves owned by women do not have it. For example, Euticus, Aug(usti) ser(vus), pictor- Eutycus, slave of Augustus (imperial slave), painter, Eros, cocus Posidippi, ser(vus)- Eros, cook, slave of Posidippus, Idaeus, Valeriae Messalin(ae) supra argentum- Ideas, treasurer of Valeria Messalina.

A sold slave retained the family name or cognomen of his former master in a modified form with a suffix -an-: Philargyrus librarius Catullianus- Philargir, scribe purchased from Catullus.

Freedmen's names

A freedman (i.e., a slave who received freedom) acquired the personal and family names of the former master, who became his patron, and retained his former name as a cognomen. Thus, Cicero’s secretary Tyrone, freed from slavery, was called: M. Tullius M. libertus Tiro- Marcus Tullius, freedman of Marcus Tiron. A slave named Apella, set free by Marcus Manneus Primus, became known as Marcus Manneus Apella. The slave Bassa, freed by Lucius Hostilius Pamphilus, received the name Hostilius Bassa (women did not have a name). Lucius Cornelius Sulla freed ten thousand slaves belonging to persons who died during proscriptions; they all became Lucius Cornelius (the famous “army” of ten thousand Cornelii).

The names of imperial freedmen are often found in the inscriptions: the baker Gaius Julius Eros, the tailor of theatrical costumes Tiberius Claudius Dipterus, the man in charge of the triumphal white clothes of the emperor Marcus Cocceus Ambrosius, the man in charge of the hunting clothes of the emperor Marcus Ulpius Euphrosynus, the man in charge of the reception of the emperor's friends Marcus Aurelius Success, etc.

In the inscriptions between the nomen and cognomen of the freedman, the personal name of the master is abbreviated and stands l or lib (= libertus), very rarely the tribe is indicated: Q(uintus) Serto, Q(uinti) l(ibertus), Antiochus, colonus pauper- Quintus Sertorius Antiochus, freedman of Quintus, poor colon. In rare cases, instead of the personal name of the former master, his cognomen appears: L(ucius) Nerfinius, Potiti l(ibertus), Primus, lardarius- Lucius Nerfinius Primus, freedman of Potitus, sausage maker. Freedmen of the imperial house are abbreviated in inscriptions Avg l (Avg lib), i.e. Augusti libertus(after the generic name or after the cognomen): L(ucio) Aurelio, Aug(usti) lib(erto), Pyladi, pantomimo temporis sui primo- Lucius Aurelius Pylades, imperial freedman, the first pantomime of his time.

It is rare to find freedmen with two cognomen: P(ublius) Decimius, P(ublii) l(ibertus), Eros Merula, medicus clinicus, chirurgus, ocularius- Publius Decimius Eros Merula, freedman of Publius, general practitioner, surgeon, ophthalmologist.

Female freedmen in inscriptions are designated by the abbreviation ƆL(the inverted letter C represents a remnant of the archaic female personal name Gaia): L(ucius) Crassicius, Ɔ (= mulieris) l(ibertus), Hermia, medicus veterinarius- Lucius Crassicius Hermia, female freedman, veterinarian.

Freedmen of cities received the name Publicius(from publicus- public) or city name: Aulus Publicius Germanus, Lucius Saepinius Oriens et Lucius Saepinius Orestus- freedmen of the city of Sepina in Italy.

Every name, male or female, has its own story. It is almost impossible to determine exactly where and under what circumstances children first began to be called by one name or another. Each has a history, dating back to ancient myths and legends. Most likely, most names simply indicate a character trait that they want to instill in a child.

But why do new names appear? The reasons are different: wars, geographical or scientific discoveries, emigration and immigration of the population.

If you look at the document of a Spanish citizen, you can see no more than 2 names and 2 surnames, despite the fact that in most European countries their number is unlimited. This is due to the fact that the state takes this issue seriously enough to avoid numerous confusions. When baptizing babies, you can assign any names allowed (approved) by the church in unlimited quantities. Typically this is done like this:

• The eldest son receives the first name of his father, the second - his grandfather on the male line;
• The eldest daughter first takes the name of her mother, and then the name of her maternal grandmother.

In general, a Spanish name consists of three main elements: a personal name ( nombre) and two surnames ( apellido): father ( apellido paterno or primer apellido) and mother ( apellido maternoorsegundo apellido).

The Spaniards are practicing Catholics; they attach great importance to the church in their lives, and therefore most of the names have their roots in Catholic saints. Spaniards do not like unusual and extravagant names and do not accept them in their lives. There are cases when the state refused to receive foreigners due to the fact that their names were quite unusual (for example, it is impossible to determine the gender of the bearer).

Many people associate Latin American countries with Spain, since in these territories Spanish is the official language, and when studying Spanish The teacher can emphasize differences between cultures and pronunciations. When it comes to names, there are also very big differences, despite the fact that Latinos use Spanish names. The only difference is that they can name the child whatever they want. Children are called English, American or even Russian names if the parents like it, and this will not be punishable by the state.

We can take the terrorist from Venezuela as an example. His name was Ilyich, and his brothers were Lenin and Vladimir Ramirez Sanchez. The staunch communist father reflected his views on life through the names of his children.

But such exceptions are extremely rare, although modernity has no boundaries or stereotypes. In Spain, simple and classic names with complex meanings remain at the peak of popularity, for example, Juan, Juanita, Julio, Julia, Maria, Diego, etc.

Separately, I would like to highlight the names and their origin (female):

• Biblical names: Anna, Mary, Martha, Magdalena, Isabel;
• Latin and Greek names: Barbora, Veronica, Elena, Paola;
• Germanic: Erica, Motilda, Caroline, Louise, Frida.

• Biblical names: Miguel, Jose, Thomas, David, Daniel, Adan, Juan;
• Greek and Latin names: Sergio, Andres, Alejandro, Hector, Pablo, Nicholas;
• German: Alonso, Alfonso, Luis, Carlos, Raymond, Fernando, Enrique, Ernesto, Raul, Rodrigue, Roberto.

Spanish female names and their meanings

• Agata – good
• Adelita (Adelita), Alicia (Alicia) Adela, Adelia (Adela) – noble
• Adora - adored
• Alondra – protector of humanity
• Alba - dawn, dawn
• Alta - high
• Angelina, Angel, Angelica - angel, angelic, messenger
• Anita – diminutive of Ana – benefit
• Ariadna – perfect, pure, immaculate
• Arcelia (Arcelia) Araceli, Aracelis (Aracelis) – wanderer, traveler
• Benita – blessed
• Bernardita – bear
• Blanca – clean, white
• Benita – blessed
• Valencia – domineering
• Veronica – victorious
• Gertrudis, Gertrudis – spear strength
• Gracia – graceful, graceful
• Jesusa - saved
• Juana, Juanita – merciful
• Dorotea – God's gift
• Elena – moon, torch
• Josefina - rewarder
• Ibby, Isabel (Isabel) – oath to God
• Inés – innocent, chaste
• Candelaria – candle
• Carla, Carolina – human
• Carmela and Carmelita - name in honor of Our Lady of Carmel
• Constancia – constant
• Consuela – consoler, the name is given in honor of Our Lady of Consolation (Nuestra Señora del Consuelo)
• Conchita - diminutive of Concepción - derived from the Latin concepto - “to become pregnant, to conceive.” The name is given in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (Inmaculada Concepción)
• Cristina – Christian
• Cruz - cross, pectoral cross
• Camila - servant of the gods, priestess
• Catalina – pure soul
• Leticia – joyful, happy
• Laura – laurel, (“crowned with laurel”)
• Luisa, Luisita – warrior
• Marita – diminutive of Maria – desired, beloved
• Marta – mistress of the house
• Mercedes - merciful, all-merciful (in honor of the Virgin Mary - María de las Mercedes)
• Maribel – fierce
• Nina – baby
• Ophelia - assistant
• Pepita – God will give another son
• Perla, Perlita – pearl
• Pilar, Pili – pillar, column
• Paloma - dove
• Ramona – wise protector
• Rebeca – alluring on the net
• Reina – queen, queen
• Renata – reborn
• Sarita (diminutive of Sara) - noble woman, mistress
• Sofia - wise
• Susana – water lily
• Trinidad – Trinity
• Francisca - free
• Chiquita is a diminutive name meaning little girl.
• Abigaíl – joy for father
• Evita – diminutive of Eva – lively, lively
• Elvira – friendly
• Esmeralda - emerald
• Estela, derived from Estrella - star

Spanish male names and their meanings

• Agustín - great
• Alberto, Alonso, Alfonso - noble
• Alfredo – elf
• Amado – favorite
• Andrés – warrior
• Antonio (Antonio) – flower
• Armando – strong, brave
• Aurelio – golden
• Basilio – regal
• Benito - blessed
• Berenguer, Bernardino, Bernardo – the strength and courage of a bear
• Valentin – healthy, strong
• Victor, Victorino, Vincente – winner and conqueror,
• Gaspar – teacher, master
• Gustavo - staff, support
• Horatio – excellent eyesight
• Damian - to tame, to subdue
• Desi - desired
• Herman (German) – brother
• Gilberto – light
• Diego – doctrine, teaching
• Jesus (Jesús) - named after Jesus, diminutives: Chucho, Chuy, Chuza, Chuchi, Chus, Chuso and others.
• Ignacio – fire
• Yousef - God will give another son
• Carlos – man, husband
• Christian (Cristian) – Christian
• Leandro – lion man
• Lucio - light
• Mario - man
• Marcos, Marcelino, Marcelo, Marcial, Martin - names derived from the name of the Roman God of War - Mars, warlike
• Mateo – gift from Yahweh
• Mauricio – dark-skinned, Moor
• Modesto - modest, moderate, sober
• Maximino (Maximino), Maximo (Máximo) – great
• Nicholas (Nicolás) – victory of the people
• Osvaldo (Osvaldo) – owning, having power
• Pablo – baby
• Paco – free
• Pasqual – child of Easter
• Pastor – shepherd
• Patricio – noble, of noble origin
• Pio (Pío) – pious, virtuous
• Rafael – divine healing
• Ricardo, Rico – strong, persistent
• Rodolfo, Raul – wolf
• Rodrigo – ruler, leader
• Rolando - famous land
• Raynaldo - sage - ruler
• Sal, diminutive of Salvador - savior
• Sancho, Santos – saint
• Severino, Severo – strict, stern
• Sergio – servant
• Silvestre, Silvio – forest
• Salomón – peaceful
• Tadeo – grateful
• Teobaldo - a brave man
• Thomas (Tomás) – twin
• Tristan – rebel, rebel
• Fabricio – artisan
• Fausto – lucky guy
• Felipe – horse lover
• Fernando – brave, courageous
• Fidel - the most devoted, faithful
• Flavio – golden-haired
• Francisco (Francisco) - free
• Juan, Juanito – good God
• Julian, Julio - curly
• Edmundo – prosperous, protector
• Emilio – rival
• Enrique – powerful ruler
• Ernesto – diligent, diligent
• Esteban - name means crown
• Yusbayo, Yusebio - devout

The most popular names among adults:

• Jose (José)
• Antonio
• Juan
• Manuel
• Francisco

Among newborn babies:

• Daniel
• Alejandro
• Pablo
• David
• Adrian

If we return to female names, the following names are now popular among women:

• Maria
• Carmen
• Ana
• Isabel
• Dolores

And among girls, that is, recently born children:

• Lucia
• Maria
• Paula
• Sarah (Zara)
• Carla

As you noticed, it is very important for Spaniards that their names are easily understood, abandoning rare and unusual options, which significantly affects the reduction of the language barrier with foreign citizens.

Sometimes the connection between a full and a diminutive name is almost impossible to determine by ear: for example, at home little Francisco can be called Paco, Pancho and even Curro, Alfonso - Honcho, Eduardo - Lalo, Jesus - Chucho, Chuy or Chus, Anunciación - Chon or Chonita. In the same way, it is difficult for foreigners to understand why we call Alexander Shurik :)

Almost all Spanish names are simple but beautiful. We hope that getting to know them will make it easier for you to communicate with native Spanish speakers, because now you know a little more about the Spaniards!