# Yusmeiro, Yasiel and Yoenis -- what's happening with Hispanic names? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528 "2013-09-10T21:58:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/21 "2013-09-14T17:47:52Z")
But in the bit you quoted I was referring to what someone else said upthread (checks: **thelurkinghorror** ) about Jeronimo as a Brazilian name, and about thinking it was Spanish. It is… both, with different diacritics that get lost in Angliziced spellings. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/22 "2013-09-14T21:58:28Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > As I understand it, Omar has been a common name in the Spanish-speaking world since the days of the Moors. As has Fatima. Yes, but try telling that to English/US speakers. 😉 Similarly, I know a few Yusefs (and spelling variants). Some of them were Muslim (yes, they exist in Latin America), some are not. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/23 "2013-09-14T23:55:56Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > 1. Related to the above, some areas of the Caribbean have had enough Middle Eastern minority that names which sound weird to US are “uncommon common names”. For example: Omar, Yamil, Ismael, Yariel… I know people (and shops!) with those names, didn’t realize until I was an undergrad that those names are considered strange or weird in the US. > [@Steken](#): > > As I understand it, Omar has been a common name in the Spanish-speaking world since the days of the Moors. As has Fatima. Yeah. Omar isn’t considered strange in the US. I’ll give you the others though. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/24 "2013-09-15T00:49:13Z")
Perhaps it was the region I was in, though, when I mentioned those names, they were surprised about them (or perhaps it was just post- 9/11 thing?)… ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/25 "2013-09-15T03:49:15Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > But in the bit you quoted I was referring to what someone else said upthread (checks: **thelurkinghorror** ) about Jeronimo as a Brazilian name, and about thinking it was Spanish. It is… both, with different diacritics that get lost in Angliziced spellings. Ahh, got it. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/26 "2013-09-15T04:47:05Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Russian names are likely to be more popular in Cuba or Venezuela, I’d think, but they do seem less common yeah. If you’re implying that it has something to do with the Soviet Union, I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Names like Vladimir and Ivan have been common in Mexico and Central America for a while, too. Yes, I get the impression that naming patterns (in most languages) are very country-specific, but for that very reason the only thing one can generalize about “Hispanic” names is that you have more distinct things influencing name choice, because there are so many more different Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas. The coincidence mentioned in the OP is just that–coincidence. Nothing is “happening.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/27 "2013-09-15T06:07:27Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > If you’re implying that it has something to do with the Soviet Union, I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Names like Vladimir and Ivan have been common in Mexico and Central America for a while, too. > > Yes, I get the impression that naming patterns (in most languages) are very country-specific, but for that very reason the only thing one can generalize about “Hispanic” names is that you have more distinct things influencing name choice, because there are so many more different Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas. The coincidence mentioned in the OP is just that–coincidence. Nothing is “happening.” I don’t know. I was specifically thinking about prominent people with those names, e.g. Carlos the Jackal. I certainly don’t think that Russian names are common per se in some countries. I agree that Latin American countries are very different in their name selection; Spanish names predominate, but other names vary. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/28 "2013-09-15T06:11:23Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > If you’re implying that it has something to do with the Soviet Union, I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Names like Vladimir and Ivan have been common in Mexico and Central America for a while, too. I’m pretty sure it’s a Communist, sympathy-for-the-Soviet-Union type of thing, even when it happens in Mexico, Central America, etc. There are Communists there too, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/29 "2013-09-15T06:26:14Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > I’m pretty sure it’s a Communist, sympathy-for-the-Soviet-Union type of thing, even when it happens in Mexico, Central America, etc. There are Communists there too, of course. Sometimes, but not necessarily; it’s gone on long enough that some current Vladimirs and Ivans are named after their uncle, rather than after a member of the USSR’s Communist Party, there are enough prominent Russian poets, writers and musicians to provide names for people who simply happen to like their work, and there is quite a few people in Latin America who happen to be of Russian/Slavic descent. My coworker Ivan with the -off lastname didn’t get the Ivan from any commies, his great-grandparents _fled_ from the commies. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/30 "2013-09-15T06:42:02Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Sometimes, but not necessarily; it’s gone on long enough that some current Vladimirs and Ivans are named after their uncle, rather than after a member of the USSR’s Communist Party, there are enough prominent Russian poets, writers and musicians to provide names for people who simply happen to like their work, and there is quite a few people in Latin America who happen to be of Russian/Slavic descent. My coworker Ivan with the -off lastname didn’t get the Ivan from any commies, his great-grandparents _fled_ from the commies. I didn’t know this! Ignorance fought, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528/31 "2013-09-15T08:59:06Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Sometimes, but not necessarily; it’s gone on long enough that some current Vladimirs and Ivans are named after their uncle, rather than after a member of the USSR’s Communist Party, there are enough prominent Russian poets, writers and musicians to provide names for people who simply happen to like their work, and there is quite a few people in Latin America who happen to be of Russian/Slavic descent. [Such as Mexican journalist, Elena Poniatowska](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Poniatowska). The Russian names… It seems if it is a name associated with one of the main leaders (Vladimir, Lenin, Trotsky), it may be somewhat politically motivated. But for others like Ivans (and Natalias, Tatiana, Tanias, etc.) that I’ve met and known, it was not a political-type name. Btw, Carlos was the name of some Spanish kings. It’s one of the traditional common names in Spanish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yusmeiro-yasiel-and-yoenis-whats-happening-with-hispanic-names/668528.md?page=1)