Basque Names
- Unai
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"cowherd"Description:
Popular name in Spain's Basque country, thanks to cowboyish meaning, virtually unknown elsewhere.
- Arantxa
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"thornbush"Description:
Basque names, indeed the entire Basque language, are unrelated to any other. Arantxa is a diminutive of Arantzazu. This obscure choice was made known by tennis player Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.
- Irati
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"fern field"Description:
For the parent who genuinely wants something different, this nature choice is popular in Spain. Downside: connection to words irate and irritation.
- Nekane
Origin:
Basque form of DoloresMeaning:
"sorrows"Description:
Nekane is the decidedly modern, upbeat-sounding Basque form of the sorrowful and dated Spanish Dolores. Basque names, largely unknown in English-speaking countries, offer a fresh lexicon of names, and Nekane is one of the more appealing. An interesting update for Nicole.
- Xanti
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"St James"Description:
Basque form of Santiago
- Zuzen
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"just, justice"Description:
The Basque name has enough Zs in it to make it look spaceaged and trendy, but it is in fact a traditional Basque name. Despite its wonderful meaning, it may be too close to the feminine English name Susan for usage in the Anglosphere.
- Argider
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"beautiful light"Description:
Argider is a somewhat used boys' name in Basque-speaking parts of Spain.
- Abarran
- Aureline
- Elixane
Origin:
Basque, diminutive or local variant of ElizabethMeaning:
"pledged to God"Description:
A rare name even among Basque speakers (fewer than 20 women in Spain are called Elixane), this beautiful name has drawn some attention via Elixane Lechemia, the French pro-tennis player.
- Ibon
- Ximenia
Origin:
Spanish nature nameDescription:
For any parents out there searching for a nature name starting with x -- and we doubt there are many -- this one, named for a Spanish monk called Ximenes, is a small tropical plant bearing wild limes.
- Bolivar
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"mill at the riverbank"Description:
Revolutionary choice.
- Elazar
- Ixidor
- Dabid
- Joska
- Imanol
- Nere
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"mine"Description:
As Nerea, in the Spanish Top 100, but this streamlined version is one of those golden choices that's both supremely simple and intriguingly rare.
- Andoni
Origin:
Basque variation of Anthony, LatinMeaning:
"from Antium"Description:
Andoni is the Basque version of Anthony, no longer a common choice in Spain.