Names by country
Spanish names for characters
Popular Spanish first names by birth decade, common and regional surnames, pronunciation, and the naming rules writers trip over.
How Spanish names work
Spaniards have two surnames: father's first, then mother's. Women keep their own surnames after marriage. Day to day people often use only the first, or the rarer one if the first is very common. Castilian Spanish says z and soft c as th (García, gar-THEE-ah).
Middle names. No middle names in the English sense. Compound first names (José Luis, María del Carmen) count as one name, and both surnames are used. Don't treat the first surname as a middle name.
First names by birth decade
Names drift in and out of fashion. Pick from the decade your character was born, not the year your story is set.
Born before 1950
Girls
- María mah-REE-ah
- Carmen
- Josefa hoh-SEH-fah
- Dolores
- Pilar
- Isabel
- Concepción kon-thep-THYON
- Teresa
Boys
- Antonio
- José hoh-SEH
- Manuel mahn-WEL
- Francisco frahn-THEES-koh
- Juan HWAN
- Pedro
- Jesús heh-SOOS
- Ángel AHN-hel
Born 1950–64
Girls
- María del Carmen
- María Dolores
- María Pilar
- Isabel
- Ana María
- Rosa María
- Mercedes
- María José mah-REE-ah hoh-SEH
Boys
- José Antonio hoh-SEH ahn-TOH-nyoh
- Antonio
- Manuel
- José Luis hoh-SEH LWEES
- Francisco Javier frahn-THEES-koh hah-BYAIR
- Jesús
- Miguel Ángel mee-GEL AHN-hel
- Luis LWEES
Born 1965–79
Girls
- María José
- Cristina krees-TEE-nah
- Laura
- Marta
- Raquel rah-KEL
- Beatriz beh-ah-TREETH
- Silvia
- Susana
Boys
- David dah-BEED
- Javier hah-BYAIR
- Juan Carlos
- José Manuel hoh-SEH mahn-WEL
- Francisco Javier
- Raúl rah-OOL
- Óscar
- Alberto
Born 1980–94
Girls
- Laura
- Cristina
- Marta
- Sara
- Andrea ahn-DREH-ah
- Paula
- Lucía loo-THEE-ah
- Patricia pah-TREE-thyah
Boys
- Daniel
- David
- Javier
- Alejandro ah-leh-HAHN-droh
- Sergio SAIR-hyoh
- Pablo
- Adrián
- Álvaro AHL-bah-roh
Born 1995–2009
Girls
- Lucía
- María
- Paula
- Laura
- Marta
- Andrea
- Alba
- Sara
Boys
- Alejandro
- Pablo
- Álvaro
- Hugo OO-goh
- Adrián
- Javier
- Daniel
- Diego
Born 2010 onward
Girls
- Lucía
- Sofía soh-FEE-ah
- Martina
- María
- Julia HOO-lyah
- Paula
- Valeria
- Emma
Boys
- Hugo
- Martín mar-TEEN
- Lucas
- Mateo mah-TEH-oh
- Leo
- Daniel
- Alejandro
- Pablo
Common Spanish surnames
- García gar-THEE-ah
- Rodríguez roh-DREE-geth
- González gon-THAH-leth
- Fernández fair-NAN-deth
- López LOH-peth
- Martínez mar-TEE-neth
- Sánchez SAHN-cheth
- Pérez PEH-reth
- Gómez GOH-meth
- Martín
- Jiménez hee-MEH-neth
- Ruiz RWEETH
- Hernández air-NAN-deth
- Díaz DEE-ath
- Moreno
- Muñoz moon-YOTH
- Álvarez AHL-bah-reth
- Romero
- Alonso
- Gutiérrez goo-TYEH-reth
- Navarro
- Torres
- Domínguez doh-MEEN-geth
- Vázquez BAHTH-keth
Regional names
Where a character comes from inside Spain changes their surname, and sometimes their first name.
Catalonia and the Balearics
Catalan names are spoken with Catalan sounds: Jordi is ZHOR-dee, not HOR-dee. Some families join the two surnames with i (Puig i Cadafalch).
Surnames: Puig, Vila, Ferrer, Soler, Serra, Font, Vidal, Pujol, Roca, Riera
Girls: Montserrat, Núria, Laia, Mireia, Meritxell, Neus, Anna, Mercè
Boys: Jordi, Josep, Pau, Marc, Oriol, Arnau, Joan, Xavier
Basque Country and Navarre
Basque surnames describe the family farmhouse: Etxeberria means new house. Basque first names surged after 1975, when they could again be registered freely.
Surnames: Etxeberria, Aguirre, Goikoetxea, Zubizarreta, Urrutia, Mendizabal, Arrieta, Iturbe, Arana, Ibarra
Girls: Ainhoa, Amaia, Nerea, Itziar, Garazi, Maite, Leire, Irati
Boys: Iñaki, Aitor, Unai, Ander, Mikel, Jon, Asier, Gorka
Galicia
In Galician, x sounds like sh: Xoán is SHOH-an.
Surnames: Castro, Otero, Rey, Pazos, Vázquez, Lorenzo, Iglesias, Varela, Souto, Fernández
Girls: Uxía, Antía, Noa, Sabela, Iria, Xiana
Boys: Xoán, Brais, Iago, Xabier, Anxo, Breixo
Andalusia
Andalusians drop many final s sounds and often say z and soft c as s rather than th.
Surnames: García, Romero, Jiménez, Moreno, Ruiz, Navarro, Torres, Domínguez, Macías, Delgado
Questions
What are common Spanish surnames?
Some of the most common Spanish surnames are García, Rodríguez, González, Fernández, López, Martínez. Regional surnames differ, so check the regional lists before choosing one for a character from a particular area.
How do Spanish names work?
Spaniards have two surnames: father's first, then mother's. Women keep their own surnames after marriage. Day to day people often use only the first, or the rarer one if the first is very common. Castilian Spanish says z and soft c as th (García, gar-THEE-ah). No middle names in the English sense. Compound first names (José Luis, María del Carmen) count as one name, and both surnames are used. Don't treat the first surname as a middle name.
Build a Spanish character in one tap
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