Spanish Names that Start With M

Mateo vaulted into the boys' Top 10 in 2023, ranking all the way up at Number 6. It is a Latinate names that, like Mia and Luca, is becoming popular far beyond its native Spanish community.

Maya, which has an almost mystical image, has been steadily climbing in popularity in the US and the English-speaking world, along with a range of other countries, including France, Germany, Israel, and Brazil. It's ranked in the US Top 100 since the turn of this century, but has never risen to the top of the list, which you may consider a good thing.

Marisol is a favorite Spanish name for girls, and an excellent candidate to cross the culture line, a la Soledad and Paz.

Simple and universal, Marco is a Latin classic that would make a much livelier namesake for an Uncle Mark. It was used for her son by actress Jill Hennessy and goes well with surnames of any nationality.

With Mateo making its first ever appearance in the US Top 10 in 2023, its Scandinavian variant Matheo borrowed some of its spotlight and appeared in the Top 1000 for the first time.

This is a rich, melodic shortening of the popular girls' name Amelia that can stand on its own. There are several figures in Greek myth named Melia, most notably a daughter of Oceanus. The Meliae are nymphs associated with trees.

Mariana is that unusual name that is more than the sum of its parts. While Mary or Maria and Ana or Anna are both perfectly nice classic names, Mariana achieves a lyrical elegance that transcends them.

Based on the ancient name Marcellus, drawn from Mars the god of war, Marcello -- it's pronounced mar-chell-o -- is one of the most lush and attractive Latin names.

Mike Tyson put a twist on his own name by naming a son Miguel. It's the first name of Cervantes, the great Spanish novelist and poet who wrote Don Quixote.

The single T version of Matias is, like Mateo, the Spanish variation of the Hebrew Biblical Matthias or Matthew, while the double T version as in Mattias and Matteo is usually Italian.

Mercedes is one of the few names attached to luxury living that we can wholeheartedly recommend, it being a legitimate Spanish appellation stemming from one of the epithets given to the Virgin Mary--Santa Maria de las Mercedes, or Our Lady of the Mercies. The car, by the way was named after the eleven-year-old daughter of the Daimler company's French distributor in 1901.

Many may associate Mario with the popular platform game - unsurprising when it's the 5th best-selling video game worldwide, and was voted the 2nd best game ever by IGN in 2024. The titular plumber was apparently named after American businessman, Mario Segale, who rented a warehouse to Nintendo, and this in itself reflects that Mario is much more established than just a name for a video game character.

While Marianna looks like a spelling variation of Mariana, the two names have different etymologies. While the one-N spelling derives from the Roman name Marianus, Marianna is a combination of two classics, Maria and Anna, used in many European languages.

A name made famous by Marisas Berenson and Tomei, never became as saturated as its cousin Melissa, so still a feasible choice. Marisa is one of those Spanish and Italian names for girls that sounds at once unusual and familiar, which makes it truly an international choice.

A feminine form of Martin, this strong and zestful sounding name is popular in Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Italy, where it ranks in the Top 30. Also familiar in Czechia, the UK, Slovakia, and Switzerland, it has never made it big in the US, and fell out of the charts back in the 2000s.

Ultimately associated with Mars, the Roman god of war and with the 3rd century patron saint of Rome, it has also been borne by two notable tennis players, Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis.

With the ubiquitous Max heard at every playground across the US, international versions have been gaining traction in an attempt to provide a fresh avenue to the highly sought nickname. This Spanish iteration has been in the US Top 1000 since the early 2000s and is currently trending upwards.

Margarita is an international form of Margaret that shares its meaning of "pearl", but also directly translates to "daisy" in Spanish and Greek. Despite being widely associated with the alcoholic beverage in English, it has a long history of use in Spanish, Greek and several Slavic languages — most notably being the name of the heroine of Mikhail Bulgakov's 1966 novel Master and Margarita.

This is a Spanish variation of Maximilian that has begun to gain some popularity. It has a luxurious feel -- maybe it's the suggestion of "millions"? -- but this is one of those Spanish baby names that come with Anglicized nicknames that can make it work across cultures.

The current wife of Donald Trump, Slovenian model Melania Knauss, brought this pretty version to the fore. Saint Melania was an heiress who freed thousands of enslaved people.

Popular among Hispanic communities but also used internationally, Manuel is a name with a regal history.