Spanish Names

Julietta feels newly fresh and friendly thanks to the growing familiarity of Juliet and French sister Juliette.

Marko is one of the many names derived from Mars, the god of war. Marco is the more usual Spanish form but Marko is a variation used in Spain along with Russia, Ukraine, and several Slavic countries.

As Elodie filters into the mainstream, parents may turn to the rarer Spanish form Elodia as an alternative.

What with Paul Simon's classic lyric about Julio down by the schoolyard and several distinguished bearers, this livelier Spanish version of Julius is completely familiar to the non-Hispanic community and would make a great choice for a bicultural family. Popular in Brazil, it also ranks in the US Top 600 and given to more than 500 boys each year. NFL Atlanta Falcons star Julio Jones bears this name.

Jadiel and Yadiel are Spanish versions of the Hebrew Yehudiel, the name of one of the archangels. It's been in the US Top 1000 since 2008, but still hovers towards the bottom.

Actress Mena Suvari (named after an Egyptian hotel) made this name seem especially appealing. Mena is also a minor Roman goddess of fertility.

Diminutive of Candelaria, a name derived from candle and given in honor of the festival of Candlemas, which marks the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Virgin Mother.

The Roman goddess Fortuna personified luck and ruled over fortune and fate. She is often depicted as blindfolded, and remains an important figure in Italian culture today, where a common saying translates to "Luck is blind."

Shortening Francisco somehow makes it sound even cooler. Cisco is also the name of a digital security company.

Ugo is very common in Italy, but here it might call to mind that little Yugoslavian car.

It's tempting to think of Gui as the Spanish form of Guy, but it's short for Guillermo.

A zippy, lively name that has never been popular, but has never completely disappeared. It is best known for writer and wit Gore Vidal, and hairdresser Vidal Sassoon and his many products.

Cute, distinctive diminutive for this regal-sounding name.

Popular in the Hispanic world and use in honor of Saint Augustine, Agustin is an anglicized form of the Spanish Agustín. It peaked at Number 561 in 2001 in the US charts and has since dropped on and off of the list again. Given to around 210 boys in a recent year, Agustin also ranks highly in Chile and Uruguay.

Viridiana is a frillier version of the medieval name Viridis, meaning green. Viridiana briefly made it into the top 1000 in the US in the 1990s.

This is a Spanish variation of Maximilian that has begun to gain some popularity. It has a luxurious feel -- maybe it's the suggestion of "millions"? -- but this is one of those Spanish baby names that come with Anglicized nicknames that can make it work across cultures.

Popular name in Spain drawn from the Provencal Mireio, coined by the poet Frederic Mistral. Very pretty and, though difficult to spell and pronounce, simpler than the French version.