From Hope and Faith to María del Dulce Nombre, life abroad is full of hilarious shocks and interesting names.
After years of travelling and living in different countries, I’ve realised that the most hilarious shocks often come in the form of names. Not so much surnames—because in Spain, for instance, you take one from your mum and one from your dad. That’s kind of cool; you get a unique mix that’s you. No, the real shockers were the first names.
My Humble Beginnings
A little background: I come from a country where most people have just one first name and one surname. In my generation, girls were usually called Zuzana, Eva, Mária, Anna, Katarína, Lucia, or Jana. Moreover, I used to joke: “Throw a stone and you’ll hit a Zuzana.” Often, the name Zuzana wasn’t just a name—it was a diagnosis: someone slightly crazy. Boys? Fair to say, not much excitement there either: Ivan, Peter, Jozef, Juraj, Ján… yawn.
A Bit of Excitement in the UK
Then I moved to the UK: Rain, Sienna, Summer, and Pip—finally, names with grit! My neighbours? Hope and Faith, one on each side. Seems, they worked the magic, life was good. Turns out, I had everything I needed. But when Hope moved away, everything went tits-up: Brexit hit, hope vanished, and faith was nowhere to be found. So we moved. To Spain.
Spain and the Name Shockwave
And then it got really exciting. Ángel and Jesús were my new neighbours! Then I heard someone called José María… or was it María José… in a waiting room, and I blinked twice. Was it a man? A woman? Both?
It kept getting better. In addition, my Spanish teacher was Asunción (Assumption), a colleague was Encarnación (Incarnation), and my son’s teacher? María del Dulce Nombre (Mary of the Sweet Name). Imagine an angry mum yelling: “María del Dulce Nombre García López, what have you done?!” No wonder Spaniards speak so fast and cram 50 words into a single breath—there’s a lot to say! And the memory they have to have??? Pppff!!!
The Confusing Nicknames
Then there are the nicknames. Paco is short for Francisco, Pepe for José, and Nacho for Ignacio. Sure, it makes sense… except that in Slovak, pako (pronounced similarly to Paco) means “a stupid person.” Not exactly the name you want shouted at you.
Too short to fit
Sitting here, writing about names, I realise I gave my kids… four-letter first names. Four letters only! How will they ever fit in with María del Dulce Nombre or José María de la Cruz?
But then again… one is named after a well-known perfume, another after a famous clothing brand, and one of them has Spanish origins. Not intentional, but thinking about it… Maybe they’ll be just fine after all.
Oh, wait, the dog! She is called… LOLA! Another four-letter name. Spanish one!!!
I swear, when we got my fury best friend, we did not know yet that we would move to Spain one day. But thinking about it, it must have been faith. And no, I am pretty sure, my English neighbour from next door had nothing to do with it. At least I hope.
Living Abroad, Gobsmacked and Happy
In summary, living abroad teaches you to laugh, to adapt, and sometimes just to be gobsmacked—and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Honestly, being surrounded by Angels, Jesuses, Esperanzas, Caridads, and Amparos isn’t so bad either—life abroad keeps you on your toes.
Curious to see what other hilariously real moments life abroad can bring? Check out more Life in Translation articles where I share the chaos, laughs, and surprises of living in different countries. And if you loved this, don’t miss “Abroadien – The Word for People Who Truly Live Abroad”, a cheeky dive into what it really means to embrace the messy, chaotic, and utterly hilarious expat life.