Tu nombre Your name
 In Spanish, when you talk about names, you use both the word nombre and the word apellido. Nombre means 'first name'. Apellido means 'last name.' So to ask someone's full name, you'll ask for his or her nombre and apellido.
Nombres
Heard a Spanish name and not sure whether it's a boy's or girl's?
A girl's name might end in any letter. A boy's name might end in any letter except -a. If a name ends in -a, it's always a girl's name (like Alicia). If a name ends in -o, it's usually a boy's name, but not always (Rocío is a girl's name, for example).
What about the origin of Spanish names?
Influence of Other Cultures Within Spanish-Speaking Countries
In Central and South America, there are about 52 million indigenous people, many who speak their traditional languages. Traditional names from these languages can be found throughout Latin America. And in Spain, not all Spaniards speak Spanish! Some other regional languages are Catalán, Gallego, and Euskera, and names in those regions will often be in those languages.
Influence of Catholicism
Many common names come from the Catholic bible, because of the influence of Catholicism in the history of the Spanish-speaking world. Therefore, you'll hear the names Adán, Eva, Noé, Abraham, Sara, Ismael, Isaac, Raquel, José, Benjamín, Moises, Miriam, David, Isabel, Saúl, Esther, Daniel, Daniela, Ana, María, Marco, Mateo, Juan, Marta, Pablo, Timoteo, among others. Children are sometimes named after Catholic saints.
Influence of Globalization and the Media
In Latin America, you'll find that some Spanish speakers have English names (like Elizabeth or Dylan), probably because of the influence of American media.
Choose your own nombre
Choose one for yourself! Scan the list below and pick the name (or names, if you want 2) you'd like to use in Spanish class.
Note: I've written a nickname for some names. There are often several possible nicknames for one person, though - Spanish speakers treat nicknaming like a sport! On the other hand, you'll never find someone's nickname on a business card, like we do in English (e.g., Rob, Bill, Mike).
Women's names = Nombres de mujeres
Some women's names have meanings that might seem strange to you. For instance:
Men's names = Nombres de hombres
Apellidos
Spanish last names date from the middle ages. In Spanish, they often follow a logical pattern.
The last names Torres, Castillo, and Ríos literally mean Towers, Castle and Rivers, and were given to people living near those landmarks.
The last names Córdoba or Mendoza mean that they were from the cities of Córdoba or Mendoza.
The last names Martínez, Rodríguez and Fernández meant child-of Martín, Rodrigo and Fernando.
The last names Herrera, Hidalgo and Guerrero mean Blacksmith, Nobleman, and Warrior.
The last names Toro, Flores, and Rosas are names taken from nature, meaning Bull, Flowers, and Roses.
You'd Have 2 Last Names
If you had grown up in a Spanish-speaking country, you'd traditionally have 2 legal last names: your father's then your mother's.
If someone told you just one of their last names, you would assume that it was their father's (same system as ours).
Nowadays, Spain's society is more gender-equal, and parents exercise more choices over their children's last names.
Titles
You already learned the most common titles: señor, señora and señorita.
And you remember that you don't know someone's name, you can just use the title to get their attention, as in señor, por favor...
Drag and Drop!
Don't see the exercise below? You can find it here.
Play games to memorize the vocabulary.
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