Being a Catholic country I suppose it is not so surprising that many names derive from religion such as the girls name Belen which is the Spanish form of Bethlehem or Candelaria meaning candle from Nuestra Senora de los Candelaria or Our Lady of the Candles referring to the purification of Mary during Candlemas. Likewise Dolores comes from Mary de los Dolores or Mary of the Sorrows. While Rocio is a popular girls name meaning Mary del Rocio or Mary of the Dew.

Then of course there is the lovely name Macarena which although derived from the Latin name Macarius meaning “blessed” also hails from the name “La Macarena” one of the 8 “quarters” of Seville and caused a bit of a riot when the Spanish flamenco pop duo Los Del Rio recorded it in 1993. The record has some limited success but when their label was bought over by BMG it became the fastest growing dance craze in America giving Los Del Rio their first hit since 1962 and their only hit in the USA. Some Catholic countries banned the song as they felt it defamed the Virgin Mary.

Spanish girl´s names are often closely associated with music. The name Adelita which is a variant of Adelina meaning “noble” was the name of a heroine in the Mexican folk song La Adelita, one of the most famous tunes from the Mexican Revolution. It is about a young women who fell in love with a sergeant and travelled with him and his regiment. The name became synonymous with a woman of strength and courage.

Having spent my life with the girls version of a boys name I have great sympathy with others who are similarly afflicted. On more than one occasion I have been greeted by a customer who was expected to meet a man and looked almost disappointed when I arrived. In Spain we have more than our fair share of girls versions of boy´s names such as Josefina, the female version of Jose meaning “God will add” and normally taken to mean “God will add another son” or Luisa the girls version of Luis meaning “famous warrior” which is really not very glamorous. With these choices, you would feel almost blessed to be given Juana the female version of Juan with the non sexist meaning of “God is gracious”.

That said it could be worse as some Spanish names leave a bit to be desired like Fabio which means “bean” or Ceasar which means “hairy” or Blas meaning “talks with a lisp`”. Life is a burden enough without being lumbered with a dodgy name but let´s all have pity on any girl called Isabella. The straight forward meaning is “God is my oath” but ………. while it is a derivative of the English name Elizabeth with very noble connections, the name was somewhat marred by Queen Isabella who inhabited the earth from 1296 – 1358. She was the wife of Edward II of England, became tired of him, took a lover, raised a small army and overthrew Edward. His end involving a red hot poker if you will pardon the pun is history now but it certainly puts you off the name.

So any expectant parents, please lay off the wine while fanning through the book of baby names, lest another generation should be left having to change their name by deedpole in order to escape a life of ridicule.