Forums

1. There are a lot of common names in my country. My own name, for example, is very common (that’s Loli), but I think that it’s from the south of Spain. Although I’m from the north, part of my family is from the south. From my point of view, that’s the reason for that they gave me that name.
2-3-4. My family name is very common, as my first name. That’s Jimenez, and I think that, in its origin, it only meant that your father’s name was Jimeno. However, there are a lot of surnames that means something in Spain, specially in País Valencià, where I’m come from. For instance, Ferrer (blacksmith).
5. Nowadays, there are names like Kevin or Johnny, for men, and Jessica or Jennifer, for women, from another countries, which are very popular in our country.
6-7. I believe that it depends on the situation. If it’s a formal one (for example, business), you would use the family name. Also the age is a factor: if you are talking with people who have the same age as you, the first name it’s usually enough. But when you are talking with older people, you would use the title, Mr or Mrs. I believe, though, that this title are falling into disuse.
8. The same pet names that are used in English, and others like baby, little girl/boy… More or less, we express our affection in the same way.

1. I think there are a lot of common names in Spain. A special thing we have in Spain is that there are not only common names for the whole country, we also have common names at the regions. For example, my name (Almudena) is pretty common in Madrid but not in Catalunya, where I come from. If I should write the "top five" of the Spanish names it could be this: 1. Jose 2. Maria 3. Juan 4. Carlos 5. Isabel.

2.3.4. My family name is Caballero and of course it means something in our language, the mean is "sir", but I don't think it means anything for my family, at least I think it has no recent or memorable history for us.

5. I think names from other countries are not common in Spain, but there was a time, maybe 16 years ago, when some people wanted to name their children as famous actors or singers. This "phenomenon" made some parents called their babys Kevin, or Richard.

6. In Spain when you meet somebody for the first time, as a standard, we use to do it using our first name, only in formal situations (like bussiness meetings) you will introduce yourself with the surname.

7. As I said, in Spain we are used to use the surname to call somebody when we are in a formal situation, so, I think in this situations you always use a title. If you just use the surname, usually is because you are talking about someone is known by you just by the surname, or because is your friend for example.

8. Yes, there are. We have pet names as "cariño", "osito", "cielo", "amor" and a lot of funny pet names that people use at home to call their family and friends.

1. What about you?
Think about these questions. Prepare answers and post them on the Noticeboard in the Study Room. Read and respond to the answers of your classmates.
1.- What are common names where you come from?
A common name in Barcelona is Jordi for men and Montse for women.
2.- Is your family name common?
Yes, my name is Joan. It’s a common name in Barcelona.
3.- Does your family name tell you anything about your family (e.g., where you come from)?
My first surname is Ordás, and the second Jiménez, and doesn’t mean anything.
4.- Some English names refer to trades or professions, such as Butcher or Baker. Does your name mean anything? Are there any names in your country that do?
No, my name doesn’t mean anything about professions. In my country there are few names that refer to professions for example, Forner, Panadero, Herrero.
5.- Are any names from other countries popular in your country? Which ones?
In school, there’s a lot of inmigrated children, and their names for example are Jonathan, Luz Maria, Edilberto, Mohamed, Mamadou, Luis Ángel, Gloria Fernanda.
6.- In your country when you meet someone for the first time what name do you use? How do you know when you can use their first name?
The first name and surname. We can use the first name when we have enough confidence.
7.- In your country do you ever use surnames without a title (e.g., Mrs or Mr)? When could you do this? Why would you do it?
We use Sr. or Sra. when we don't have confidence with this person. It's a polite way to speak.
8.- There are common pet names in English that show affection, such as honey, darling or pet. What words are used in your language?
For example kuki or churri, are pet names.