Nicaragua: Names

Birth names, on the whole, are interesting cultural indicators.  They can reflect entrenched cultural values (as in the prominence of Biblical names), migration patterns (Irish names, Italian names, Polish names), and even pop culture trends (children named after sports figures and celebrities).  With regard to birth names, Nicaragua represents a curious case.  A person’s name does not seem to reveal a cultural identity, as much as a decision based on whim and fancy.  In many cases, names in Nicaragua seem to be the result of a game of Scrabble gone terribly awry.  How else to explain the following names: Joxe, Jocasta, Axel, Exel, Lubianka, Mayerling, Esquiam, Yen.

In spite of the randomness, many names do fall into certain categories, though some categories are more esoteric than others.  As is to be expected, names of Spanish origin are popular, but not to the degree of other Latin American countries.  Whereas, in other countries “discovered” by the Conquistadors, Spanish names account for around ninety percent of the birth names, in Nicaragua it is probably closer to sixty percent.  Pre-Colombian Aztec names such as Xochilt, Itzachelt, and Cuatemoc are less common, but still typical (especially Xochilt).

The end of the Spanish colonial period, and the rise of the United States as the regional hegemonic power, made a greater mark on birth names in Nicaragua than in many other Latin American countries I have visited.  Anglo-Saxon names such as Karen, Hazel, Helen, Jennifer, Kathy, Katherine, Lucy, Marjory, Jason, Walter, Kenneth, Gary, Bryan, Andy, Michael, Edwin, Sammy, Franklin are unheard of in other Hispanic American countries (to say nothing of Spain itself), but in Nicaragua they are about as common as standard Spanish names like Jose, Luis or Maria.  An odd situation, given the difficulty Spanish speakers have in pronouncing these names (between the English and Spanish languages there is a noticeable deviation in the pronunciation of the letters H, J, and R as well as in the sounds made by the combination of “th” and “ca”).

Due to the Spanish pronunciation of the Anglo-Saxon names, a sub-category exists today in Nicaragua of misspelled American names.  The names tend to be spelled based on a Spanish speaker’s phonetic pronunciation of the original name.  For example, people named Michael commonly spell their names Maycol (as in Ma…y…col).  Since phonetically an English “Je” sound is closer to a Spanish “Ye” than to a Spanish “Je,” names like Jennifer and Jessica are sometimes written as Yennifer and Yessica.  Since phonetically an English “Ha” sound is closer to a Spanish “Ja” than to a Spanish “Ha,” you run into Jamiltons instead of Hamiltons.  Other examples are Jeyson (Jason), Yoston (Justin), and Leysi (Lacy) to name just a few.

In the interest of staying consistent with the geopolitical narrative, one might argue that the triumph of the Marxist revolution in 1979, and the resulting rise in influence of the Soviet Union (the cultural exchange programs, the study abroad programs, the visiting diplomats and social workers) led to a generation of Nicaraguan babies born with Russian  names.  That theory might not be wildly off-the-mark; the names Trotsky, Stalin, and Lenin, while far from common, are surprisingly not unheard of in Nicaragua (there is, in fact, a news reporter named Stalin Vladimir).  What are common are Russian-sounding names, most of which end with either “ska” or “elka.”  Names like Anielka, Junielka, Darielka, Taniuska, Yahoska, Juleska, Ninoska.  The problem with these names is that while they sound Russian (or at least, I think they sound pretty Russian), they are not Russian names (or at least, not according to a quick Google search).

Rather than seeing them as Russian-sounding names, we should look at them for what they really are: names that are variations on the same theme (a three-syllable name, with an tonal emphasis on the vowels in the second syllable [the “ie”], that finishes with “ka”).  My guess is that somebody heard a name like Anielka, and decided to give their child a name that sounded similar, but that was original (like, Darielka).

This may seem like an odd explanation, but it corresponds to a wider trend.  Birth names in Nicaragua are distinct in that they can be categorized into “themes” that relate to the actual sounds of the names.  There is a category of names that end with “ka” (the Russian sounding names); names that end in “ing” (Darling, Mayerling, Jayling, Mayling, Sherling, Kimberling, Heiling, Theyling, Keyling, Josephling); and names that end in “th” (Jalileth, Lillieth, Lisseth, Juseth, Junith, Jamileth, Marileth, Judith, Scarleth).  This method of “creating” a name based on sound, is similar to what is practiced by certain groups of African-Americans in the United States (names like Shaniqua, Laquisha, Monique, ect.).

It didn’t take much to go from changing a few letters of a name in order create another distinct name with the same sound, to inventing names that were completely original. Casta Jeruska, Esquiam, Gerzon, Jerson, Gian, Hareiso, Jurgen Skander, Jeibi, Yen.  I believe it all started with the influx of Anglo-Saxon names, that, due to natural phonetic mispronunciation, caused people to alter the spelling.  This led people to start altering the spelling of other names, creating new names based on the sounds one fancied.  Then, completely new names began to appear.

The current situation is one in which some people don’t know how to spell even their own names.  I have seen people spell their names differently at different moments, and when someone else tries to spell it for them and seems to have done it wrong they will just say, “Nah, that’s good.”  Today in Nicaragua, there are Justins, Jostins, Jostons, Yostins, and Yostons all living side by side.

So there you have it: Nicaragua, the vanguard of birth names.