Naming Conventions in Spanish-Speaking Countries

Usually, a person has three (or four) names  Ex:  Leonardo Israel León Pinzón

Leonardo Israel León Pinzón  Leonardo – This is his first name, just like you have a first name.  Israel – This is his middle name. It is more common to not have a middle name in Spanish-speaking countries than it is in the USA.  León – This is his father’s last name. Usually, this name always comes first in the last name. Pinzón – This is his m In Spanish, it’s called el apellido paternal (the paternal last name).  other’s last name. Usually, this name comes second. In Spanish, it’s called el apellido materno (the maternal last name).  On an everyday basis, he’d be known as “Leonardo León”.

Marriage  Let’s say Leonardo marries a woman named “Rosalita Gonzalez Rodriguez”.  After marriage, Rosalita can be socially known as “Rosalita Gonzalez Rodriguez de León”. This is not her legal name, however.  After a few years of marriage, they have a child. They name him Gabriel.  His name would be “Gabriel León Gonzalez”.

Another Generation  Let’s say that Gabriel León Gonzalez grows up and marries a woman named Josefa Dominguez Morelos.  They have a child named David. What would his full name be?

 David León Dominguez

María  Mary is so highly revered in Spanish-speaking countries that many girls are named after her.  Mary’s esteem is so great that even boys can be named after her. For example: José María isn’t an uncommon name.

-ez  As you’ve probably noticed, many Spanish last names end with the suffix –ez.  This suffix indicated “son of…”.  This is the same thing as someone’s last name being “Johnson” or “Jameson”.

Álvarez – the son of Álvar, Álvaro Antúnez – the son of Antón, Antonio Benéitez, Benítez – the son of Benito Díaz, Díez, Diéguez – the son of Diego Domínguez – the son of Domingo Enríquez – the son of Enrique Estévez – the son of Esteve, Estevo, Esteban Fernández – the son of Fernando Giménez, Jiménez, Ximénez – the son of Gimeno, Jimeno, Ximeno Gómez – the son of Gome González – the son of Gonzalo Gutiérrez – the son of Gutierre, Gutier Hernández – the son of Hernando Ibáñez – the son of Iván, Juan López – the son of Lope

 Márquez – the son of Marco, Marcos  Méndez – the son of Mendo  Míguez, Miguélez – the son of Miguel  Martínez – the son of Martín  Núñez – the son of Nuño  Pérez – the son of Pedro  Rodríguez – the son of Rodrigo  Ruiz – the son of Ruy, Roy  Ramírez – the son of Ramiro  Sánchez – the son of Sancho  Suárez – the son of Suero  Vázquez – the son of Vasco, Velasco  Velázquez – the son of Velasco  Vélez – the son of Vela

Common Nicknames  Alicia = Ali, Licha  Antonio = Toño  Beatriz = Beti  Carlos = Carlitos  Carolina = Caro  Daniel = Dani  Francisco = Pancho  Guillermo = Meme  Isabel = Chabela

 Jesús = Chuy  Josefina = Pepita  Juan = Juancho  Luis = Lucho  Maria = Maruja  Pablo = Pablito  Roberto = Beto  Sofia = Sofi  Tomas = Tomi  Victoria = Viqui