Jan
20
Spanish names
In Spanish, like in English, people frequently use abbreviations of a name. For instance, in English we have “Billy, Patty, Bubba, Becky,” just to name a few. Well, the same thing happens in Spanish.
While some of these are well-known, others may be less so to a person studying Spanish. Here’s a list of a few:
(The abbreviated name is listed first and the full name is in parenthesis.)
Ali (Alicia)
Conchi, Concha (Concepción)
Charo (Rosario)
Chema, Chemita, Josemi, Josema (José María)
Fede (Federico)
Fonsi, Fonso (Alfonso)
Gabi (Gabriel, Gabriela)
Geles (Ángeles)
Gelo (Ángel)
Guille (Guillermo)
Javi (Javier)
Juani (Juan, Juana)
Juanma (Juan Manuel)
Kike, Quique (Enrique)
Leni (Elena)
Maribel (María Isabel)
Maje (María Jésus)
Maite (María Teresa)
Manu (Manuel)
Merce, Merche (Mercedes)
Monse (Montserrat)
Mundo (Raimundo)
Nacho (Ignacio)
Nando (Fernando)
Paco (Francisco)
Pepa, Pepi, Pepita (Josefina)
Pepe (José)
Pili, Pilu (Pilar)
Rafa (Rafael)
Toya, Viki (Victoria)
January 24th, 2008 at 6:00 am
I have also heard that people named Jesús often go by “Chuy”.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:05 am
No, I’m pretty sure “Chuy” is short for Chewbacca.
Great list. I’ve been living in Spain for several years and am just now figuring some of these out.
February 5th, 2008 at 4:45 am
i’ve also heard “memo” as a nickname for “guillermo”
but how spanish-speakers get “paco” from “francisco” is beyond me