New trend for unusual names

[Zahara]

In the English-speaking world, there seems to be a trend of unusual and unconventional names for children, typically amongst celebrities and younger parents. For example, some parents have named their children things such as 'Apple', 'Honey', or even 'La-a' (pronounced la dash ah). Has this trend somehow crossed into the Spanish-speaking world? Are people naming their children 'manzana', 'plátano' or 'Caballo'? Or not? Or, perhaps, was this already the norm?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Well, in Mexico, the most unusual names a few years ago, were some taken from the Bible, but there were also parents who had a higher education and named their children Greek or Latin names, or they gave them names from geographic places: Minerva, Platón, Sócrates, Marco Tulio, Grecia, Kenia, Georgia, América...

However, a more recent fashion has been to use foreign names, even if they sound very strange with Spanish last names for us: Chantal López, Kevin Hernández, Brandon Dylan Martínez, Brayan Sánchez, Janett Ramos, Lizbette Rodríguez, Yésica Álvarez (these last ones must have been "Brian", "Jeannette", "Lisbeth", "Jessica", but many parents don't even mind to look for the right spelling)...

I haven't seen any "Manzana" or "Plátano" yet , but I have met girls called Lluvia (Rain), Azul (Blue), Leydi (or Leidi Di, for "Lady" or "Lady Di"), "Orema" (this one, a math teacher's daughter, who actually wanted her to be called "Teorema").

And the latest-latest fashion around here is to take a baby-name-book and pick the strangest one, or the one with an attributed significance like "the most loved", "the one who struggles till the end", "the one who will conquer", etc.

[Glen]

How much kidding would a girl innocently named by her parents Dolores come in for? Considerable, I imagine.

[Rusty]

Dolores is a very common name and is never a source of ridicule, as far as I know.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Rusty. Names like Dolores, Remedios, Angustias, Consuelo, Soledad, etc., are associated with Catholic virgin names, so they're very common and nobody is being mocked for having such names.

[pjt33]

Escrito originalmente por AngelicaDeAlquezar

Well, in Mexico, the most unusual names a few years ago, were some taken from the Bible, but there were also parents who had a higher education and named their children Greek or Latin names, or they gave them names from geographic places: Minerva, Platón, Sócrates, Marco Tulio, Grecia, Kenia, Georgia, América...

¿En México se ponen también nombres derivados de los libertadores del país? He conocido a dos o tres Bolívares ecuatorianos o colombianos, pero conozco a menos mexicanos así que no sé si habrá algún Iturbide o Hidalgo.

[Perikles]

Escrito originalmente por AngelicaDeAlquezar

I agree with Rusty. Names like Dolores, Remedios, Angustias, Consuelo, Soledad, etc., are associated with Catholic virgin names, so they're very common and nobody is being mocked for having such names.

Maybe not, but recently I noticed that a very pretty female weather forecaster on Spanish TV who was called Concepción disappeared for a couple of weeks and came back with a totally different and innocuous name. Or she had a twin sister.

[poli]

I think names that mean things are sometimes fun. I have come across Dulce de la Cruz, Severo Leon, Leon Manzo. In English: Anita Matris, Ruth Liss, Ralph Di Norcia, Helen Berlin.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Escrito originalmente por pjt33

¿En México se ponen también nombres derivados de los libertadores del país? He conocido a dos o tres Bolívares ecuatorianos o colombianos, pero conozco a menos mexicanos así que no sé si habrá algún Iturbide o Hidalgo.

En México, en general, no se usan los apellidos como nombres, pero recuerdo haber sabido de alguien llamado Morelos; también hay un político que se llama Martí, y sé que algunos militantes comunistas tenían hijos de nombre Lenin e hijas de nombre Lenina o Lenia.
Sin embargo, la mayoría de las ideologías con frecuencia quedan camufladas en nombres sencillos como Carlos Federico (por Marx y Engels), Rosa (por Luxemburgo), Rubén Darío (por el poeta), Benito (por Juárez), Francisco Ignacio (por Madero), Emiliano (por Zapata), etc.

A veces es más fácil adivinar el sentimiento patriótico de los padres cuando los hijos tienen nombres indígenas como Moctezuma, Cuauhtémoc, Nezahualcóyotl, Citlali, Xóchitl...

Escrito originalmente por Perikles

Maybe not, but recently I noticed that a very pretty female weather forecaster on Spanish TV who was called Concepción disappeared for a couple of weeks and came back with a totally different and innocuous name. Or she had a twin sister.

I think that's something very different: it's not the same thing that people mock you for your name so you hate it, as not liking it just because.
Women called Concepción usually don't like their name because it's too long, because they feel it sounds harsh, or even worse, because they hate the traditional (at least in Mexico) diminutive "Concha"/"Conchita", which may be a bad word in many countries. Still, most of them come to terms with "Connie", which sounds soft and fancy; but if she didn't, hopefully she's happy with her new name.

[wrholt]

Escrito originalmente por poli

I think names that mean things are sometimes fun. I have come across Dulce de la Cruz, Severo Leon, Leon Manzo. In English: Anita Matris, Ruth Liss, Ralph Di Norcia, Helen Berlin.

I was rather amused when I finally learned the meaning of the maternal-side apellido of my roommate during my first year of college: his apellidos were "Caballero Verdugo".