Added: 10/30/2005 |
Choosing A New Name Spanish For Your ChildWhen people think of Spanish names their mind is automatically drawn along the lines of Isabella or Raul. While these are common name Spanish to have there are other names out there that break the boundaries. When thinking of a Spain name for your child your mind is free to roam and to expand your mind to the possibility of an unusual or unexpected name for your child. Because limiting yourself to just a name Spanish will force you to stick within those boundaries and will not let you make that unexpected leap.
When you think of Spanish names the usual culprits will appear in your mind. A Spain name is important to every child as it is their identity for life and they will carry that name with them forever. While some name Spanish are very dull most do have a very powerful meaning. Some name Spanish have meanings such as strong, cheerful and noble while these are one word meanings there are many that have a whole meaning such as a strong and resolute protector. These are the kind of name Spanish that people love to have as their name. Many people believe that if their child is given a name with a meaning such as strong and peaceful then they will aspire to be like that when they are older. Many Spanish names are also chosen because of saints and religious feast days a lot of names also represent the Virgin Mary. Due to Spain being a very Catholic country a lot of names have some reference to the Virgin Mary.
In Spain and Portugal people will usually have at least two surnames. One is inherited from the father and the other being from the mother. The father's surname is written before the mother's surname, there are some exceptions to this but many are set out in the father before mother surname. Having your name laid out like this is known as the apellido paterno (paternal surname) and the apellido materno or segundo apellido (maternal or second surname). In Spanish speaking countries family is very important to them so they choose to keep their families forenames and take them into the next generation so that they can keep passing the family name through each generation onto their children then their grandchildren and so forth
In Portugal the father's surname will usually come after the mother's surname. The traditional naming conventions are changing due to gender equality. The child's last name can come from either the father or mother as described, but the latter is still highly uncommon. This does not just apply to Spain and Portugal all Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries lay out their names like this. Also when a Portuguese woman gets married she can adopt her husband's surname and still keep her maiden name. This is the only way to preserve her maiden name so that her name will be passed onto the next generation with her children.
But nowadays fewer women adopt their husband's names. The husband can also adopt his wives surname if he wishes, but this is not very common in Portugal. Most women will adopt their husbands name officially but they will not use it in their professional or informal life.
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