Unit 1 Names

[Esther]

I come from Barcelona and there the common names are Jordi, Núria, Maria, Marc, Josep, Francesc, Roger...these are the "classical" or traditional names, but nowadays people name their babies Pol, Martina, Iu, Berta, Arnau...
Definitively, my family name isn't common in Catalonia and neither in Spain. I'd never known anybody with my family name, till I discovered a work colleague who had it. Later, I have know a colombian politician and, recently, a futbol player. It really doesn't mean anything, probably is a short of Sant Pere (Saint Peter) but this is just an speculation! I only know that comes from València or Castelló, the places where is more frequent.
In Catalonia there is a lot of family names that refers to ancient professions like ferrer (blacksmith), forner (baker), carnisser (butcher), fuster (carpenter), and these are really the most common and popular.
It's important to remark that Catalonia has been a important migration destiny for a lot of people from Spain along the years, so hear we have a large number of family names that come from Andalucia, Galicia, Murcia, Aragó, etc. And in the last ten years, there's is also many family names from people who have come from another countries in the world.
When you meet someone for the first time you should use a formal register, like Mr or Mrs and his or her surname. It depends on the context: at work, with people you never had seen before or when you meet people older than you. At work or with people you just meet, when you have a daily treatment, probably he or her ask you to call him or her by the first name. With other people, like the boss, you will always use the title...You know you can call someone by his/her first name when you are sure you have enough confidence. With friends we always use the first names, even the nicknames or pet names. You can call a friend "carinyo" or "amor"! And these are common with your girl or boyfriend o with your wife or husband.

[Admin]

Thanks for your message Esther - very good work!
Pieter

[Raquel]

Nice message. I'm curious to know your family name

[Esther]

Admin wrote:
> Thanks for your message Esther - very good work!
> Pieter
Thanks! :-)

[Esther]

Raquel wrote:
> Nice message. I'm curious to know your family name
Thanks. My family name is Samper. Althouh it isn't frequent, in TV3 there's another Samper and we often share emails and phone calls ;-)