Puerto Rican Nicknames...everybody has one
A hypocoristic, the formal term for a nickname, is most often formed through a shortening of the given or original name by a loved one. In Spanish culture, almost all names can be made diminutive by adding or changing the ending to '-ito' for male names and '-ita' for female names. This practice is still very common today. However, sometimes there is no obvious connection to the given name, and one must work to uncover the origin of the nickname used by a relative.
Understanding the origins of these nicknames can be helpful in finding the given name of your ancestors so you can search census, birth, marriage, and death records more effectively. Additionally, many women used their middle name, especially if their given name was Maria, to distinguish themselves from siblings, cousins, or neighbors. If you're having trouble finding a relative by the name you know them by, adding 'Maria' before their nickname may help you locate them.
Some nicknames may be based on general terms of endearment, such as Papo or Tita. Others are based distinguishing features, like Sule for someone with blue eyes. While these type of nicknames won't help for research, they can be particularly useful for learning about physical characteristics when there are no photographs available.
Below, I've provided a list of the most common hypocoristics (nicknames) to assist you in discovering the given names of your ancestors. Formal documents typically use these given names. However, in some cases, you may discover that the name on a birth certificate differs from the name used by the person or their family. This could be because the declarant (the person who registered the birth) changed it, forgot it, or made a mistake.
I've organized the list by listing the actual given name first, as there may be various nicknames for each. Conversely, some nicknames may be used for various given names.
Understanding the origins of these nicknames can be helpful in finding the given name of your ancestors so you can search census, birth, marriage, and death records more effectively. Additionally, many women used their middle name, especially if their given name was Maria, to distinguish themselves from siblings, cousins, or neighbors. If you're having trouble finding a relative by the name you know them by, adding 'Maria' before their nickname may help you locate them.
Some nicknames may be based on general terms of endearment, such as Papo or Tita. Others are based distinguishing features, like Sule for someone with blue eyes. While these type of nicknames won't help for research, they can be particularly useful for learning about physical characteristics when there are no photographs available.
Below, I've provided a list of the most common hypocoristics (nicknames) to assist you in discovering the given names of your ancestors. Formal documents typically use these given names. However, in some cases, you may discover that the name on a birth certificate differs from the name used by the person or their family. This could be because the declarant (the person who registered the birth) changed it, forgot it, or made a mistake.
I've organized the list by listing the actual given name first, as there may be various nicknames for each. Conversely, some nicknames may be used for various given names.
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Quick search nor nicknames here to begin your investigation!
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Male:
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In Spanish, double names are common, especially used with Maria or Jesus (for both genders.) Some have a compound hypocoristic (e.g. Juanes for Juan Esteban) and others (e.g. Jesus Ramon) can have their own hypocoristics distinct from those for the individual parts (e.g. Jesusra for Jesus Ramon, but Suso for Jesus and Moncho for Ramon). Often given names came from the Saint's Day name and appears in formal documents but only the informal name is known and passed down.
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Male
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After a few people began asking, I decided to include here a list of names in Spanish and the English equivalent. I did not include names that are spelled the same in English and Spanish such as Olivia, David, and Benjamin. Although the pronunciation is different, it is obvious that the names are the same. I also excluded the feminine or masculine forms of names not commonly used in English such as Gregoria and Manuela. This list is not exhaustive so please send me others you may have stumbled upon that I may include!
*not used as a name in English
*not used as a name in English
ChicasAdriana Adriene
Alba Dawn Alejandra Alexandra Alicia Alice Ana Anna Anabela Annabelle Aurora Dawn Beatriz Beatrice Belen Bethlehem* Bernadina Bernadine Bibiana/Viviana Vivian Blanca Blanche Brigida Bridget Camila Camille Candelaria purification* Caridad Charity Carlotta Charlotte Carolina Caroline Catalina Katherine Caterina Catherine Clara Claire Clarisa Clarissa Claudia Gladys Clotilde Clotilda Clementina Clementine Constanza Constance Consuela consolation* Cristina Christina Débora Deborah Dionicia Denise Dominga Dominique Dorotea Dorothy Elena Helen Eloisa Eloise Ema Emma Emilia Emily/Amelia Esmeralda Emerald Esperanza Hope Estefanía Stephanie Estela Estelle Ester Esther Estrella Star Eugenia Eugenie Eustaquia Stacey Eva/ Evita Eve Evangelina Evangeline Filomena Philomena Florencia Florence Florentina Florence Francisca Frances Gabriela Gabrielle/Gabriella Genoveva Genevieve Gertrudis Gertrude Gloria Glory Gracia Grace Guillermina Whillhemina Herminia Hermione Hortensia Hortense Ileana Helen Ínes Agnes Isabel Isabelle/ Elizabeth Isabela Isabella Isadora Isidore Ivette Yvette Josefina Josephine Joana Joanna Juana Joan Justina Justine Leonor Eleanor Lidia Lydia Liliana Lillian Lorena Lorraine Lorenza Lauren Lucia Lucy Lucila Lucille Luisa Louise Luna moon* Luz light* Margarita Daisy/ Margaret Maria Mary Marta Martha Matilde Matilda Mayra Myra Melania Melanie Micaela Michaela/Michelle Natalia Natalie Nidia Nydia Nieves snow* Noemí Naomi Ofelia Ophelia Paola Paula Patricia Patrice/ Patricia Paz peace* Perla Pearl Raquel Rachel Reina queen* Rosa Rose Roxana Roxanne Rubina Ruby Sabina Sabine Sara Sarah Serenidad Serenity Sofía Sophia Sonia Sonya Teodora Theodora Teresa Theresa Valentina valentine* Veronica Bernice Vilma Wilma Violeta Violet Viviana Vivian |
ChicosAbran Abraham
Adán Adam Adolfo Adolf Agosto Augustus Agustín Augustine Alberto Albert Alejandro Alexander Alfonso/Alonso Alfonse Alfredo Alfred Ambrosio Ambrose Andrés Andrew Antonio Anthony Armando Herman Arnau Arnold Arturo Arthur Basilio Basil Bartolomé Bartholomew Bautista Baptiste Benito Benedict Bernabe Barnabas Bernardo Bernard Buenaventura Bonaventure Carlos Charles César Caesar Ciro Cyrus Claudio Claude Cornelio Cornelius Cristián Christian Cristóbal Christopher Darío Darius Demetrio Demetrius Domingo Dominic Edgardo Edgar Edmundo Edmund Eduardo Edward Elías Elijah Emanuel Immanuel Emilio Emil Enrique Henry Esteban Stephen Eugenio Eugene Eustaquio Eustace Fabio Fabius Faustino Faustus Federico Frederick Felipe Philip Fernando Ferdinand Francisco Francis Gabino/Gavino Gavin Geraldo/Gerardo Gerald Germán Jermaine Godofreo Geoffrey Gregorio Gregory Guillermo William Gustavo Gustav Gutierre Walter Heriberto Herbert Herminio Herman Hernan Hernando diminutive Horacio Horatio/Horatius Hugo Hugh Ignacio Ignatius Isais Isaiah Isidro Isadore Ismael Ishmael Jacobo Jacob Javier Xavier Jerónimo Jerome Jimeno Simon Joaquín Joachim Jorge George José Joseph Josue Joshua Juan John Julio Julius Justo Justus Leonardo Leonard Leopoldo Leopold Lorenzo Lawrence Luciano Lucian Luis Louis Marcelo Marcellus Marcio Marcus Marco/Marcos Mark Mateo Matthew Matías Matthias Máximo Maximus Miguel Michael Moises Moses Noé Noah Osvaldo Oswald Pablo Paul Paolo Paul Pascual Pascal Patricio Patrick Pedro Peter Paulo Paul Prospero Prosper Rafael Raphael Ramiro Ramirus Ramón/ Reimundo/Reymundo Raymond Reinaldo/ Reynaldo Reynold Rey King Ricardo Richard Roberto Robert Rodolfo Rudolph Rodrigo Roderick Rolando Roland Roque Rocco Rubén Reuben Salomón Solomon Sancho Sanctius Sebastián Sebastian Severo Severus Silvestre Sylvester Simón Simon Tadeo Thaddeus Timoteo Timothy Tómas Thomas Valentín Valentine Vicente Vincent Vidal Vitalis Virgilio Virgil Vito Vitus Wilfredo Wilfred Ximeno Simon Yago Jacob Zacarias Zachary |
Don't forget about last names!