Do these Spanish names cross over to English-speakers?

[belen]

Rocio (roh- CEE- oh) = "dew" and is an accepted girl's name in many Spanish speaking countries. Marisol = "sea and sun" is also widely accepted girls name.

[veggiemama]

Thanks for all the input everyone! Great to hear so many opinions!

[amenspanglish]

Let us know what you decide! Good luck!

[bluegirl]

Why not? They are lovely choices.

[mcdonak1]

I grew up with a Feliz, and she never seemed to have problems with her name, fwiw.

[chapitaism]

I agree with thetxbelle and ybp completely. I live in Northern Mexico and I don't believe that any of these names are allowed to be used in Mexico by law. If you use Felix as an option for Feliz, or Felicia for a girl, those are well established names and your boy or girl will be OK in the playing ground. I see you have Felix included in your signature as a favorite =)
Some examples of word names well established in current 2011 list for latino babies are: For girls, Victoria (meaning victory), Abril (meaning april), Alma (meaning soul), Jazmin, Luna (meaning moon), Clara or Blanca (meaning white). For boys, Leonardo, Angel (meaning angel), Valentín.
You could also use some classical nature names like Rosa (meaning rose), Azalea (like the flower), Rocío (meaning dew), Brisa (meaning breeze), Sol (meaning sun, I know people named like this in both genders), Mar (meaning sea), Perla (meaning pearl), Rubí (meaning ruby), Esmeralda (meaning emerald), Flor (meaning flower, I remember it was used in a character of movie "Spanglish"), Celeste (meaning celestial, but also blue sky), Estrella (meaning star), Ambar (meaning amber), Alondra (meaning lark), Paloma (meaning dove), Aurora (meaning down), Nieves (meaning snow but in plural). I am just saying these are the most used, not that they can make a good cross-cultural name. If you use one of these names, I hardly believe your children get teased.
For boys I can think in a classical name like Domingo (meaning Sunday), Jerónimo (after Geronimo!). Not nature names, but more options=)
There are also some names that are trendy in US and get into 100 popularity names list from latino countries. Globalization is helping Latino parents to listen to more different names and get the trend to mainstream =) so you might want to take advantage of this =)
Anyway, there are many classical names in US that are well known and used in Latino world, and many of them are written the same in both languages =) Think in Emma, Ashley, Elizabeth, Jessica, Karen, Laura, Sylvia, Kevin, Brian, David, etc, etc. these are names used by mainstream, so everybody knows how to spell them =) At least, in the northeastern Mexico, many people travel to US for shopping, so many of them know and use for their children a lot of names used in US. So again, you might want to take advantage of this =)

[amenspanglish]

I agree with thetxbelle and ybp completely. I live in Northern Mexico and I don't believe that any of these names are allowed to be used in Mexico by law. If you use Felix as an option for Feliz, or Felicia for a girl, those are well established names and your boy or girl will be OK in the playing ground. I see you have Felix included in your signature as a favorite =)
Some examples of word names well established in current 2011 list for latino babies are: For girls, Victoria (meaning victory), Abril (meaning april), Alma (meaning soul), Jazmin, Luna (meaning moon), Clara or Blanca (meaning white). For boys, Leonardo, Angel (meaning angel), Valentín.
You could also use some classical nature names like Rosa (meaning rose), Azalea (like the flower), Rocío (meaning dew), Brisa (meaning breeze), Sol (meaning sun, I know people named like this in both genders), Mar (meaning sea), Perla (meaning pearl), Rubí (meaning ruby), Esmeralda (meaning emerald), Flor (meaning flower, I remember it was used in a character of movie "Spanglish"), Celeste (meaning celestial, but also blue sky), Estrella (meaning star), Ambar (meaning amber), Alondra (meaning lark), Paloma (meaning dove), Aurora (meaning down), Nieves (meaning snow but in plural). I am just saying these are the most used, not that they can make a good cross-cultural name. If you use one of these names, I hardly believe your children get teased.
For boys I can think in a classical name like Domingo (meaning Sunday), Jerónimo (after Geronimo!). Not nature names, but more options=)
There are also some names that are trendy in US and get into 100 popularity names list from latino countries. Globalization is helping Latino parents to listen to more different names and get the trend to mainstream =) so you might want to take advantage of this =)
Anyway, there are many classical names in US that are well known and used in Latino world, and many of them are written the same in both languages =) Think in Emma, Ashley, Elizabeth, Jessica, Karen, Laura, Sylvia, Kevin, Brian, David, etc, etc. these are names used by mainstream, so everybody knows how to spell them =) At least, in the northeastern Mexico, many people travel to US for shopping, so many of them know and use for their children a lot of names used in US. So again, you might want to take advantage of this =)

So true! Awesome names by the way! Estrella would be an awesome pick for a nature name. And I'm now seriously thinking of Felicia as one of my own top names. Azalea is awesome too. My husband is mexican and his best friend's name is Domingo. He calls him "Sunday" sometimes for fun lol. It's a cool name!
My husband is one of those mexicans who love American names. I love American names that mexicans can pronounce that are biblical (good characters as I'm pretty versed in bible stories) or have an inspiring meaning. I love latin names too, but I want a name that will kindof show my culture since the last name Hernandez is a dead giveaway for latin culture. Lol. If you have any suggestions, please answer my thread. I would really appreciate it!

[ybp]

Re: Feliz - Felicitas is a totally legit girl's name in Spanish.