Skip to content
Home » European names » Spanish baby names

Spanish baby names

Spanish baby names are full of warmth, rhythm, and history. Many come from saints, royalty, or nature, while others reflect regional identities from Catalonia, Galicia, the Basque Country, and Andalusia. Spain’s naming culture also includes giving two surnames (one from each parent) and honoring family members through name repetition.

Each year, the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) publishes a list of the most popular names based on birth registrations. Below are the latest and most complete lists, including meanings, old-school favorites, and fun pet names to round it all out. Also check out our other European name lists.

Top 100 Spanish boy names with meaning

Spanish boy names
Spanish boy names
RankNameMeaning or origin
1MartínLatin, “of Mars”
2MateoHebrew, “gift of God”
3HugoGermanic, “mind” or “spirit”
4LeoLatin, “lion”
5LucasLatin, “light”
6DanielHebrew, “God is my judge”
7AlejandroGreek, “defender of men”
8ManuelHebrew, “God is with us”
9PabloLatin, “small” or “humble”
10ÁlvaroGermanic, “guardian”
11AdriánLatin, “from Hadria”
12EnzoItalian/German, “ruler of home”
13DavidHebrew, “beloved”
14MarioLatin, “male, manly”
15MarcosLatin, “warlike”
16DiegoSpanish, derived from James
17GaelBreton/Spanish, “generous”
18IkerBasque, “visitation”
19AntonioLatin, “priceless one”
20IzanBasque form of Ethan, “firm”
21JorgeGreek, “farmer”
22ThiagoPortuguese/Spanish, “may God protect”
23SergioLatin, “attendant”
24NicolásGreek, “victory of the people”
25DarioPersian, “wealthy, kingly”
26RodrigoGermanic, “famous ruler”
27BrunoGermanic, “brown-haired”
28SamuelHebrew, “God has heard”
29AndrésGreek, “manly”
30LiamIrish, “strong protector”
31ErikNorse, “eternal ruler”
32RafaelHebrew, “God heals”
33JavierBasque, “new house”
34RubénHebrew, “behold, a son”
35IsaacHebrew, “he will laugh”
36GonzaloVisigothic, “battle-ready”
37BielCatalan, short for Gabriel
38IvánSlavic, “God is gracious”
39JanCatalan, “God is gracious”
40LuisGermanic, “famous warrior”
41OliverLatin, “olive tree”
42JonBasque, “gift of God”
43VíctorLatin, “victor”
44MarcCatalan form of Marcus
45RaúlGermanic, “wise wolf”
46PolCatalan, “Paul”
47AlanCeltic, “handsome”
48JoelHebrew, “Yahweh is God”
49ArnauCatalan, “eagle ruler”
50ElíasHebrew, “My God is Yahweh”
51SalvadorSpanish, “savior”
52GuillermoGermanic, “resolute protector”
53BoscoItalian, “woods, forest”
54AitorBasque, “good father”
55Hugo(repeat in regional stats)
56GaizkaBasque, “savior”
57NéstorGreek, “homecoming”
58UnaiBasque, “shepherd”
59AdriàCatalan form of Adrián
60FerranCatalan, “bold voyager”
61NilCatalan, from the Nile River
62MauroLatin, “dark-skinned”
63PauCatalan form of Paul
64EloyLatin, “chosen”
65JaumeCatalan form of James
66BlasLatin, “lisping”
67ValentínLatin, “strong, healthy”
68MateoReappears in some regions
69LukenBasque form of Lucas
70AntónGalician form of Antonio
71OriolCatalan, “golden”
72GuillemCatalan, “protector”
73XabierBasque form of Javier
74TomásAramaic, “twin”
75SaúlHebrew, “asked for”
76LeoLatin, “lion” (repeat)
77MikelBasque form of Miguel
78MartínReappears in various provinces
79LlorençCatalan form of Lawrence
80RoqueSpanish, “rock”
81RayanArabic, “gates of heaven”
82MatíasSpanish, “gift of God”
83GonzaloRepeat from top 40
84CamiloLatin, “attendant”
85EstebanGreek, “crown”
86JuanHebrew, “God is gracious”
87JesusHebrew, “Yahweh is salvation”
88CristóbalGreek, “Christ-bearer”
89AnxoGalician, “angel”
90IsmaelHebrew, “God will hear”
91DiegoRepeat in several regions
92IsaacRepeat (popular among Jewish/Christian families)
93RamónGermanic, “wise protector”
94CésarLatin, “head of hair” or “emperor”
95HéctorGreek, “steadfast”
96NoelFrench, “Christmas”
97Mateo(popular across regions)
98Hugo(remains top name in multiple regions)
99LeónSpanish, “lion”
100BenjamínHebrew, “son of the right hand”

Top 100 Spanish girl names with meaning

Spanish girl names
Spanish girl names
RankNameMeaning or origin
1LucíaLatin, “light”
2MartinaLatin, “of Mars”
3SofíaGreek, “wisdom”
4MaríaHebrew, “beloved” or “bitter”
5JuliaLatin, “youthful”
6PaulaLatin, “small” or “humble”
7ValeriaLatin, “strong, healthy”
8EmmaGermanic, “whole, universal”
9DanielaHebrew, “God is my judge”
10AlbaLatin, “dawn”
11CarlaGermanic, “free woman”
12VegaSpanish, “meadow”
13LaraGreek, “citadel”
14SaraHebrew, “princess”
15OliviaLatin, “olive tree”
16NoaHebrew, “motion”
17ChloeGreek, “green shoot”
18AitanaBasque origin, “glory” or mountain name
19LeyreBasque/Spanish, “clear, bright”
20AndreaGreek, “brave” or “manly”
21ÁngelaGreek, “messenger”
22InésGreek, “pure”
23AbrilLatin, “April”
24MíaScandinavian, “mine”
25IreneGreek, “peace”
26CarmenHebrew/Latin, “song” or “garden”
27TrianaAndalusian, from Seville
28AriadnaGreek, “most holy”
29NayaraBasque, “admirable”
30LíaHebrew, “weary”
31ElsaHebrew, “God is my oath”
32BlancaSpanish, “white, pure”
33CeliaLatin, “heavenly”
34NereaBasque, “mine”
35JimenaHebrew/Spanish, “listener”
36LolaDiminutive of Dolores, “sorrows”
37AmayaBasque, “the end” or “mother”
38GalaLatin, “festive”
39RocíoSpanish, “dew”
40ClaraLatin, “bright, clear”
41CandelaLatin, “candle” or “light”
42AlmaLatin, “nourishing” / Spanish, “soul”
43MarSpanish, “sea”
44SolSpanish, “sun”
45LeireBasque, from monastery name
46VioletaLatin, “violet flower”
47EstrellaSpanish, “star”
48ManuelaHebrew, “God is with us”
49LucíaRepeats as top name in regions
50LúaGalician, “moon”
51EliaHebrew, “My God is Yahweh”
52AroaBasque, meaning unclear
53CarlotaGermanic, “free woman”
54VeraLatin/Slavic, “truth” or “faith”
55AnaHebrew, “grace”
56AbrilLatin, “open” or “spring”
57OnaCatalan, “wave”
58MalenaCombination of María and Elena
59MartinaRepeats as top name in Catalonia
60AbrilCommon in Galicia and Madrid
61JuliaAppears across all regions
62AdaGermanic, “noble”
63CarlaStrong in Catalonia
64MaiaGreek, “mother” or “midwife”
65LaiaCatalan, from Eulalia
66JudithHebrew, “woman from Judea”
67NuriaCatalan, from Our Lady of Nuria
68DuniaArabic/Spanish, “world”
69ArletCatalan, “altar of God”
70MarinaLatin, “of the sea”
71BertaGermanic, “bright”
72MireiaCatalan, “to admire”
73RebecaHebrew, “to bind”
74IrisGreek, “rainbow”
75CarmenPopular in Andalusia
76ItziarBasque, “old stone”
77AinaCatalan, variant of Anna
78ZairaArabic, “radiance”
79ElviraSpanish/Germanic, “truth”
80SorayaPersian, “jewel” or “princess”
81EiderBasque, “beautiful”
82YaraArabic, “small butterfly”
83JuanaFeminine of Juan
84BelénSpanish, “Bethlehem”
85NoeliaLatin, “Christmas”
86MontserratCatalan, from monastery name
87LaraPopular across Spain
88CelesteLatin, “heavenly”
89FátimaArabic, “captivating”
90ElsaRepeats due to popularity
91CarlaRepeats due to regional stats
92GiselaGermanic, “pledge”
93YaizaCanary Islands, “rainbow flower”
94LidiaGreek, “from Lydia”
95SandraShort for Alexandra
96AmiraArabic, “princess”
97IriaGalician, “peace”
98SofíaCommon across Latin America
99ValentinaLatin, “strong, healthy”
100NazaretSpanish, “from Nazareth”

Top 20 traditional Spanish names with meaning

These names are timeless staples in Spanish culture. They’re often passed down across generations and are deeply rooted in religion and family history.

Traditional Spanish boy names

  1. José – Hebrew, “God will add”
  2. Juan – Hebrew, “God is gracious”
  3. Antonio – Latin, “priceless one”
  4. Francisco – Germanic, “free man”
  5. Manuel – Hebrew, “God is with us”
  6. Miguel – Hebrew, “Who is like God?”
  7. Pedro – Greek, “rock”
  8. Jesús – Hebrew, “Yahweh is salvation”
  9. Ramón – Germanic, “wise protector”
  10. Andrés – Greek, “manly”

Traditional Spanish girl names

  1. María – Hebrew, “beloved” or “bitter”
  2. Carmen – Hebrew/Latin, “garden” or “song”
  3. Pilar – Spanish, “pillar” (from “Nuestra Señora del Pilar”)
  4. Rosario – Latin, “rosary”
  5. Dolores – Latin, “sorrows” (from “Virgen de los Dolores”)
  6. Mercedes – Latin, “mercies”
  7. Josefa – Feminine of José, “God will add”
  8. Teresa – Greek, “to harvest”
  9. Concepción – Latin, “conception” (Immaculate Conception)
  10. Isabel – Hebrew, “God is my oath”

Top 20 Spanish pet names with fun meaning

Spanish pet names are often sweet, silly, and full of flavor—literally! Many come from food, descriptive words, or endearing tones. Some are also used as affectionate nicknames for people.

NameMeaning or note
Pelusa“Fluffball” – perfect for a fluffy pet
Chispa“Spark” – for energetic and zippy pets
Canela“Cinnamon” – for brown-toned pets
Luna“Moon” – one of the most popular dog and cat names
Sol“Sun” – warm and glowing presence
Nube“Cloud” – soft, white, and cuddly
Coco“Coconut” or cute like Coco Chanel
Manchitas“Little spots” – for spotted animals
Gordo“Chubby” – used affectionately, not offensively
Negrito“Little black one” – common for black pets
Linda“Pretty” – often for small female dogs
TobyClassic dog name in Spain
ChurroNamed after the delicious pastry
PipoFun, round-sounding name for dogs or birds
PochiChildlike nickname with no literal meaning
Bombón“Candy” – for sweet personalities
SimbaFrom The Lion King
PepaDiminutive of Josefa
TitoOld-school male nickname turned pet name
RocoMasculine and punchy, often for large dogs

Wrapping up: tradition, tenderness, and timeless char

Spanish baby names are full of meaning, music, and multigenerational beauty. Whether you’re drawn to royal classics like Juan and Isabel, nature-inspired picks like Luna and Vega, or modern favorites like Mateo, Lucía, and Gael, there’s a Spanish name to suit every story.

Fun facts about Spanish names:

  • In Spain, children receive two surnames: first from the father, then the mother.
  • Many girl names are derived from titles of the Virgin Mary, such as María del Pilar or María de los Ángeles.
  • Lucía has topped the girl name charts for over a decade, especially in Galicia and Madrid.
  • Regional languages like Basque, Catalan, and Galician offer unique name variations such as Aitor, Laia, and Xoel.
  • Pet names in Spanish often come from foods, physical features (Pelusa, Negrito), or sound-based cuteness.

Still searching for inspiration? Visit Name Library to explore thousands of baby names from Spain and across Europe complete with meanings, origins, and popularity. Or what about other latin names from South-America?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *