Name help: pronounce same in English or Spanish

[porcelina]

Hi!

DH and I are looking for girls names that can be pronounced the same in English and in Spanish. Basically, that implies spelling should be simple, and hopefully avoid "r"s, "h"s and "j"s, which are pronounced differently. Any "i" would hopefully be pronounced like "eee", and "e" would be pronounced like a long a. We tend to like classic names. Some thoughts we've had are Maya, Lucia, and Ines. We don't mind a commonly used name, though would like to avoid really trendy ones (i.e., will be in and out very quickly). I think Maya might fit into that category...

Anyway, please let me know if you have any suggestions!

[SuburbanHippie]

How would you feel about Alicia? I know some people do pronounce it Ah-lee-sha, but I would think the majority would pronounce it correctly. It's a beautiful name and not terribly trendy.

[RedOakMomma]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilingual_name

Rarely used female bilingual names in English and Spanish
Aida (identified with the Italian language both in English and Spanish)
Alda (rare in both Languages)
Alma
Belinda (rare in both Languages)
Brenda (rare in both Languages)
Calista (identified with the Italian language both in English and Spanish)
Dora (rare in both Languages)
Juliana (identified with the Italian language both in English and Spanish)
Leonora (identified with the Italian language both in English and Spanish)
Marla (rare in both Languages)
Martina (rare in both Languages)
Norma (rare in both Languages)
Tamara (rare in both Languages)
Ursula (identified with the Italian language both in English and Spanish)
Virginia (rare in both Languages)
Zoe (identified with the Greek language both in English and Spanish)


Commonly used female bilingual names in English and Spanish
Abigail - Rare in Spanish
Adelaide/Adele/Adeliza/Alix/Adela - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Amanda
Amelia/Amalia - The English spelling is tolerated in Spanish
Andrea
Anna/Ana - The English spelling is tolerated in Spanish
Annabel/Anabel - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Barbara - Rare in Spanish
Cecilia
Claudia
Diana
Dolores - Rare in English
Elaine/Eliana - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Emily/Emilia - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Emma
Gemma - Rare in Spanish
Helen/Helena/Elena - The bold spelling is tolerated in English and Spanish
Irene
Julia
Lisa - Rare in Spanish
Linda - Rare in Spanish
Mary/Maria - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Marcia - Rare in Spanish
Maura - Rare in English
Melinda - Rare in Spanish
Micaela - Rare in English
Miriam - Rare in English
Monica
Naomi - Rare in Spanish- this name is actually a trilingual name as it exists in Japanese too.
Olga - Rare in English
Olivia
Patricia
Paula
Pauline/Paulina - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Pamela - Rare in Spanish
Priscilla/Priscila - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Rose/Rosa - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Sarah/Sara - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Serena - Rare in Spanish
Sophie/Sofie/Sophia/Sofia - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Susan/Suzan/Susann/Susanne/Suzanne/Susanna/Susannah/Susana - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Sylvia/Silvia - The English spelling is tolerated in Spanish
Tanya/Tania - The Spanish spelling is tolerated in English
Theresa/Therese/Teresa - the bold spelling is tolerated in English and Spanish
Veronica/Verónica
Victoria

[shishkeberry]

My sister's name is Cecelia (I think the spelling is Cecilia in Spanish). I've always thought that was a pretty name.

ETA: My cat's name is Porcelina! I call her Lina. SP fan?

[PapayaMom]

We have the same criteria for our girls names. DD#1 is Maya I went to school with a Maya growing up, Maya Angelou the name has been around for a while and is actually international meaning that it exists in many different languages. Which I think is neat.

DD#2 is Carolina pronounced Caro-Leena, we have gotten Carolina like North Carolina only occasionally. In fact Maya is more often mispronounced May (like the month) ah. We like that the names are slightly different but still accessible.

Good luck!

[emilyash]

Bianca

[Chamomile Girl]

Angelina,Teresa, Clara. Oooh I like Ursula.

[Bubblette]

My cousin's names is Renata and I LOVE it.... I know it doesn't exactly fit but even with a rolled R it sounds almost exactly the same when either side of the family pronounces it.

[BreakfastyMichele]

Our friends had the same dilemma! They named their girls Kiara and Irina.

Good luck!

[LeaPea]

I love Yessenia!

[HeatherB]

Does Gabrielle/Gabriella count? I know the Spanish pronunciation of Gabriel is like Gabrielle. Not sure if that works for a girl, then, too?

[Pinoikoi]

Gemma.

[Pinoikoi]

I have a cousin in law that is a doctor.. her name is Illuminada.

[khaoskat]

Isabella maybe, although in Spanish it might be pronounced slightly different...because of the "I"...

I have a friend who named their child "Isa", and and pronounce it "esa"

[Mosaic]

There are a couple of similar threads if you do a search in Multicultural families.

We picked Evelyn Elizabeth and Monica Lynn. Girl names are way easier than boy names!!