by gvargas » Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:35 pm
I'm from Spain and here most of the names are linked to the Catholic tradition. Therefore, at the time of my parents, the most common names were Joseph, Mary or the name of a Catholic saint. Currently, parents choose names like "Jessica" or "Jade", which sounds more exotic. My name is Giovanni "and translated into Spanish is" Juan "and my parents chose it because my grandmother's family came from Italy. The surname of my family is Vargas. I think Vargas has no connection with any profession, but I know people that their family name is related to occupations. One example is the surname of the president of Spain, Zapatero.
In Spain it is normal to call people by their first name, unless you know a person you need to treat with great respect as someone older than you, a teacher or a boss.
In Spain, the more common pet names among couples are "cariño", "amor", "tesoro."... but I know a couple, too corny, that uses "melocotoncito" but that's another story ... There are people who have a great imagination with pet names.