Foreign given names in Spanish youth: evidence of a globalized society

Foreign given names in Spanish youth: evidence of a globalized society Carmen Luján-García (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) ABSTRACT This paper provides evidence of the impact of the Anglo-American culture on Spanish language and society. Societal phenomena such as globalization, migration and the media are observable in every area of Spanish people’s daily life. This study reveals the extent of the popularity of foreign given names, mostly English, in Spanish society. English given names seem to be currently associated with such values as high fashion and social prestige. Study of variables frequency, gender and age reveal that the choice of English first names is becoming very popular. A comparative analysis of English given names in the 1960s and in the 2010s in Spain is carried out. The dataset was collected from the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE) and the results report that English first names occur quite frequently among people aged 25 years or younger and therefore represent a new tendency. The paper includes discussion of adaptations of some of the examined English names to Spanish. KEYWORDS first names, English, Spanish, globalization, anglicisms 1. INTRODUCTION Globalization and migration are two important processes that have caused worldwide societal changes in economics, politics, culture, and technology in the past decades. A great deal of literature has dealt with the impact of these two phenomena specifically on current Western societies (Blommaert, 2010, Fairclough, 2006, Pennycook 2007, Phillipson, 2003, 2009). As a result of globalization and migration, the role of the English language has become more prominent in many European countries. English has become the language of fashion in recent decades, the evidence of which is provided by a number of pieces of research that reveal English as the most frequently used language in many different areas; for example, rather than appearing in the local languages, a preponderance of shop signs in European countries are in English so that they can serve as a resource to attract prospective customers (Dimova, 2007, Griffin, 2004, Luján-García, 2010a, McArthur, 2000, Schlick, 2002). The media represent another field in which the use of English is becoming more and more common (Gerritsen et al., 2007, Martin, 2006). Various English loanwords are also appearing in the field of advertising (Bhatia, 2006, Durán-Martínez, 2002). According to Bhatia (2006, 601), “… in the era of rapid globalization and super-branding, advertising messages all over the globe will conform to extreme homogeneity in terms of the use of language, the display of logo and the content of the message. English will naturally be the chosen language of global advertisers”. All global advertisers agree about the importance of using English as a symbol of prestige and high fashion, because English seems to attract prospective customers. OPEN ACCESS 146 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 2/2015 The area of fashion and beauty is another field where the use of anglicisms is quite common (Balteiro and Campos, 2012). Something similar is in evidence in other areas as well, such as the translation of film titles (Luján-García, 2010b). Computers represent another field wherein a number of anglicisms are used daily. Such terms as software, hardware, reset, online, internet, and web are used by speakers of various other languages, whether the speaker is a computer specialist or not (Pano, 2007, Bolaños and Luján, 2010). As Balteiro (2011) and Rodríguez-González (2012) report, the field of sports also tends toward the use of anglicisms. Examples are crack, sponsor, derby, play-off, sprinter, and basket. Even some specific areas such as the one of toys leaflets addressed to young children has been studied (Luján-García, 2011) and the number of toys with English names is quite considerable. The area of analysis in this research paper is that of first names. The choice of children’s names has traditionally tended to be subject to societal changes, fashion changes, and other trends. Scholars have found that the choice of first names has varied throughout time. Galbi (2002, 277) researched the most popular given names from 1300 to 1800 in the United Kingdom and found that “the causes of changes in individual names go beyond the scope of this report”. The finding means that the reasons for the changes are not strictly linguistic but mostly social. In the case of Spain, too, onomastic traditions have been subject to changes. For example, the presence of different races and ethnic groups living in medieval times in Spain and the coexistence among Jewish, Muslim, and Catholic peoples caused different types of names to arise as parts of regular life at that time. The elimination of that multicultural society diminished the contact of the Spanish language with other languages, especially Arabic. Consequently, Semitic names also tended to disappear, and Latin names became the most popular ones—first, among the highest social classes and then among citizens with less status (García-Gallarín, 2010, 57). In recent decades, the situation seems to be changing. A number of foreign names is being used to name young Spaniards. Many of these foreign names are originally English and they have been introduced into European Spanish through different sources such as the Latin American migration (García-Gallarín, 2010, 90), and through the media—for instance, in the forms of television dramas, cinema films, and celebrities. García-Gallarín (2010, 90) contrasted choices between the English name John, the Italian equivalent Giovanni, and the French equivalent Jean; and the results showed that according to data from Madrid Town Hall in 2006, John is the name of more than 800 men in Madrid, whereas around 400 men are called Giovanni and around 300 men are called Jean. The English version, John, is the most chosen one—obviously, after the Spanish version, Juan. This paper contains a sociolinguistic analysis that reveals how societal changes that have taken place in recent decades affect linguistic changes such as parents’ choice of English first names for children. My hypothesis is based on various factors: firstly, as aforementioned, the influence of Anglo-American culture and globalization. Secondly, other variables such as Latin America migration to Spain. Thirdly, the media and the popularity of TV serials, cinema films and celebrities. In addition to these societal changes, fashion plays an important role when it comes to name choice. Lieberson (2000, 93) reports that “names are an excellent example of fashions that change without CARMEN LUJáN-GARCíA 147 a ‘push’ from profit-oriented institutions”. Fashion is subject to permanent change, and thus name choice is, too. Being aware of the complexity of this topic and accepting the limitations of this research, this paper intends to show the process of change regarding name choice in Spain throughout the past decades, as well as parents’ growing tendency to choose foreign names. In this study, the focus has been mostly English given names. The need for such research can be justified for two reasons: first, no studies that focus on the topic have been carried out in Spain, and second, well-known sociolinguist Stanley Lieberson asserts that this field, which has a sociolinguistic nature “has yet to receive the extensive study that this fascinating topic deserves” (Lieberson, 1984, 86). 2. OBJECTIVES In general terms, this paper intends to shed some light on the increasing use of given names of English usage in Spain. As a consequence, three more specific objectives have been set. — To find out which are the most common English male and female first names currently used by young Spaniards who are under 25 years old. — To make a contrastive analysis between the uses of the 25 most common English male and 25 most common English female names in the 1960s and in the 2010s in Spain. — To examine the process of adaptation of some English given names to Spanish. 3. METHOD The method employed in this piece of research consisted of the consulting of databases of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE, National Statistics Institute), a reliable source of statistical data in Spain. The INE has compiled data about first names from the 1930s to the current decade. The organization produces such data as mean age of people living in Spain who have a specific name. Therefore, a researcher can learn whether parents in Spain choose certain given names more commonly during certain periods than they do in others. The INE database provided this researcher with a dataset of the given names used in Spain and it was necessary to determine which of the names had an English usage to create a corpus. In order to ensure the usage of the long list of names provided by INE, the database Behind the Name (Campbell, 2014) had to consulted. This database provides data of the real origin of the names, its current usage, the existence of equivalents for the names in other languages, among other details. It is essential to clarify that many names have one origin or etymology, which usually dates back to Ancient languages (Scandinavian, Germanic, Classical Greek, Hebrew, Roman, Persian). The specific origins of the examined names have been included in Table 1 — for male names — and Table 4 — for female names. However, in this study rather than the ancient origin of the names, it will be the most immediate 148 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 2/2015 origin and the established or traditional usage of the names in certain countries that will serve as the main criterion to consider a given name English, French, Scandinavian or the like. This research field is not a simple one. However, in this work, the corpus has been compiled after a careful process that allowed to choose a set of given names. Most of those names come from English or English speaking countries (Ireland, Wales, Scotland) with just a few exceptions of some names that come from French, Dutch, Swedish, Jewish and the Bible, in addition to the English language (see tables 1 and 4). Other names that come from many different sources such as Italian, French, German or the Slavic languages have not been considered in this study, as will be shown in Table 2 — for male names — and Table 5 — for female names. A second criterion which was considered to build this corpus was the average age of the people with this kind of names. Twenty-five years old was the maximum age set, so any name whose users were over 25 was discarded (see tables 3 and 6). The reason to employ this criterion was to demonstrate that the use of these names is a relatively recent event in Spain. 3.1. THE CORPUS The following corpus, which is composed of 25 male and 25 female given names, has been taken from INE, according to information the institute has in its database on January 1, 2013. Table 1 displays the 25 most frequently used English first names and their variants among males living in Spain in 2013, the etymology, the average age of those men, the usage or more immediate origin of those names, and the existence of Spanish equivalents. Name Etymology Frequency Average age Usage Spanish equivalent 1Aaron From Aharon Biblical Hebrew 23,938 11.7 English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek Aarón 2Eric From Eirikr Ancient Scandinavian 21,157 13.1 English, Swedish Éric (Catalán) 3Edgar From Eadgar Anglo-Saxon 9,305 20.2 English, French Edgardo 4Nil (adapted from Neil) From Neil Irish 5,966 8.4 Irish, Scottish, English No 5Ian From Yochanan Biblical Hebrew 5,881 13.1 English, Scottish Juan, Iván, Xuan 6Brian From Brian Ancient Irish 5,153 24.0 Irish, English No 7Rayan (adapted from Ryan) From Rían Irish 3,993 3.1 Irish, English No CARMEN LUJáN-GARCíA 149 Name Etymology Frequency Average age Usage Spanish equivalent 8Dylan From Dylan Welsh Mythology 1,968 6.2 Welsh, English No 9Noah From Noach Biblical Hebrew 1,672 5.1 English, Biblical Noé 10 Joshua From Yehoshua Biblical Hebrew 1,534 19.3 English, Biblical Jesús, Josué 11 Derek From Theutrich Ancient Germanic 1,534 23.5 English No 12 Cristofer (adapted from Christopher) From Christophoros Late Greek 1,431 19.9 English Cristóbal 13 Steven From Stephanos Ancient Greek 1,338 25.3 English, Dutch Esteban, Estavan 14 Ethan From Eitan Biblical Hebrew 1,337 7.4 English, Jewish, French, Biblical No 15 Erick From Eirikr Ancient Scandinavian 1,129 11.4 English Èric (Catalán) 16 Brayan (adapted from Brian) From Brian Ancient Irish 1,118 9.5 Irish, English No 17 Jeremy From Ieremias Biblical Greek 919 13.1 English, Biblical Jeremías 18 Liam (abbreviation of William) From Willahelm Ancient Germanic 919 8.5 Irish, English Guillermo 19 Andy (abbreviation of Andrew) From Andreas Ancient Greek 712 14.0 English Andrés 20 Brandon From Brandon English 597 11.4 English No 21 Ryan From Rían Irish 375 15.1 Irish, English No 22 Marlon Unknown origin 353 21.1 English No 23 Owen From Eugenios Ancient Greek 269 12 Welsh, English, Irish Eugenio 24 Elliot (variant of Elliottsurname) From Eliyyahu Biblical Hebrew 235 16.6 English Elías 25 Destiny From Destiny English 134 13.7 English No Table 1. The most common male given names mostly in English 150 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 2/2015 Table 1, which shows a selection of 25 male first names, provides the frequency of men with those names in Spain. Most of these given names are commonly used in English and in some cases in some other languages such as Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French, Swedish and Biblical. The average age of these males is under 25 years old in all cases. The last column provides information about the existence or non-existence of a Spanish equivalent for these names. Fourteen out of the twenty-five examined names have an equivalent, but some parents still choose the foreign version of the name for their children. The reason for choosing these names, rather than other given names whose frequency of use is higher is due to two facts: first, names that are frequently used in English and in several other languages such as the male name Christian, with a frequency of 21,941 boys with an average age of 19.1, or Kevin whose frequency is 14,717 boys with an average age of 14.4 years. These names have been discarded because they are frequently used in several other languages in addition to English as Table 2 shows. Therefore, it is not possible to ascertain that these male names have entered Spanish society exclusively by means of English. Name Frequency Average age Usage Spanish equivalent 1Christian 21,941 19.1 English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Cristián 2Kevin 14,717 14.4 English, Irish, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish No equivalent 3Erik 9,241 10.9 Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Hungarian, German, Dutch Èric (Catalan) Table 2. Some samples of male given names discarded due to their various origins The second factor for having discarded some other names is because of the average age over 25 of the men with these names. Some examples are shown in Table 3. Name Frequency Average age Usage Spanish equivalent 1 John 3,676 53.6 English, Biblical Juan 2 George 2,943 39.2 English, Romanian Jorge 3 Nelson 2,339 33.6 English No Table 3. Some samples of male given names discarded due to the average age over 25 CARMEN LUJáN-GARCíA 151 The corpus of female names is presented in Table 4. It shows the 25 most commonly used English first names and their variants among females living in Spain in 2013. The etymology is also included in addition to the frequency, the average age, the usage and the existence or non-existence of equivalents in Spanish for those given names. Similarly to the case of the males, in some of the examined female names there is also more than one immediate origin, in addition to English. Some of these names are also frequently used in another English speaking country (Ireland), and in some other languages (Cornish, Swedish, Iranian, Arabic, Biblical). Name Etymology Frequency Average age Usage Spanish equivalent 1Jennifer From Gwenhwyfar Welsh Mythology 19,571 21.8 English Genoveva 2Sheila From Caecilia Ancient Roman 19,115 19.8 Irish, English Cecilia 3Jenifer (variant of Jennifer) From Gwenhwyfar Welsh Mythology 8,077 22.8 English, Cornish Genoveva 4Coral From Korallion Greek 6,091 21.7 English No 5Erica (feminine of Eric) From Eiríkr Ancient Scandinavian 4,541 22.6 English, Swedish No 6June From Juno Ancient Roman 4,404 13.2 English No 7Yasmin (variant of Yasmine) From Yasamen Persian 3,866 10 Iranian, Arabic, English Yasmina 8Cynthia From Kynthia Greek Mythology 3,185 20 English, Greek Mythology No 9Evelyn From Avi Ancient Germanic 3,241 21.2 English, German Avelina 10 Brenda Feminine of Brandr Old Norse 2,868 25 English No 11 Naomi From Na’omi Biblical Hebrew 2,299 13.8 English, Hebrew, Biblical Noemí, Nohemí 12 Sheyla (variant of Sheila) From Caecilia Ancient Roman 1,469 16 Irish, English Cecilia 152 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 2/2015 13 Katherine From Hekate Greek Mythology 1,354 24.1 English Catalina 14 Yasmine (variant of Yasmin) From Yasamen Persian 1,374 9.4 Iranian, Arabic, English Yasmina 15 Kiara (variant of Ciara) From Ciar Irish 1,096 8.2 English Clara 16 Chloe From Chloe Greek Mythology 1,758 5.1 English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek Cloe 17 Melody From Melos (“song”)+Aeido (“to sing”) Greek 1,001 17.1 English No 18 Emily From Aemilia Ancient Roman 877 13.0 English Emilia 19 Ashley From Ashley (surname) English 645 7 English No 20 Kelly From Ceallach Irish 622 22.6 Irish, English No 21 Kira (variant of Ciara) From Ciar Irish 610 13.4 English Clara 22 Amy From Amata Late Roman 581 17.0 English Amada 23 Kimberly From Cyneburg Anglo-Saxon 552 13.3 English No 24 Agatha From Agathe Ancient Greek 549 12.9 English, Ancient Greek Ágata 25 Keila (variant of Kayla) From Hekate Greek Mythology 535 17.1 English No Table 4. The most common female given names mostly in English Regarding the existence of equivalents in Spanish for these foreign names, fifteen out of the 25 chosen given names have an equivalent in Spanish. The rest ten names have not a Spanish equivalent. Despite the existence of those equivalent names, some parents still prefer to choose the foreign version of the name. Reasons for this choice will be discussed, but there may be a component of looking fashionable and trendy. A foreign name like Emily looks cooler than the Spanish equivalent Emilia. Similarly to the compilation of the corpus of male names, despite their high frequency of use, some female names have more than one immediate origin and are used in various other languages, in addition to English (see Table 5). Some examples of female names that were discarded because they have many immediate origins: CARMEN LUJáN-GARCíA 153 Name Frequency Average age Usage Spanish equivalent 1Erika 14,908 17.3 Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Hungarian, German, Dutch No 2Jesica 6,264 25.5 English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian Yessica 3Sarah 3,480 19.2 English, French, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical Sara Table 5. Some samples of female given names discarded due to their various origins Some other female names that were discarded because of the average age of the women was over 25 are presented in Table 6. Name Frequency Average age Usage Spanish equivalent 1 Janet 2,016 37 English Juana 2 Gladys 1,999 44.7 Welsh, English No 3 Denise 1,459 31.8 French, English, Dutch No Table 6. Some samples of female given names discarded due to the average age over 25 Therefore, the compilation of this corpus had to be carefully carried out considering different aspects: the immediate origin of the given names, the average age of the people with these names and the highest frequency of use. The next sections will examine in detail variables such as frequency of use, gender, and ages of people with those foreign names. 4. RESULTS First of all, an analysis of the most frequently occurring given male and female names in Spain compared with some of the names in Tables 1 and 2 will be carried out according to frequency of use. 4.1. FREQUENCY OF USE The frequency of use of the following names of people living in Spain in 2013 is based on INE statistical data. For a wider view of the Spanish panorama regarding first names, it is necessary to contrast the 10 most common names in Spain with the selection of the most frequently used English names included in this study. 160 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 2/2015 Given name Total decade: 1960s Born in Spain Born abroad Total decade: 2010s Born in Spain Born abroad Aaron 27 16 11 3,838 3,829 9 Eric 315 26 289 3,960 3,947 13 Edgar 259 25 234 562 558 5 Nil (adapted from Neil) 0 0 0 1,502 1,496 6 Ian 189 1 188 1,435 1,429 6 Brian 76 0 76 262 262 0 Rayan (adapted from Ryan) 0 0 0 2,252 2,177 75 Dylan 0 0 0 718 709 9 Noah 0 0 0 177 177 0 Joshua 10 0 10 52 52 0 Derek 39 0 39 266 266 0 Cristofer (adapted from Christopher) 0 0 0 43 43 0 Steven 0 0 0 67 67 0 Ethan 0 0 0 302 7 Erick 13 1 12 400 400 0 Brayan (adapted from Brian) 0 0 0 236 236 0 Jeremy 19 1 18 152 152 0 Liam (abbreviation of William) 12 0 12 284 284 0 Andy (abbreviation of Andrew) 16 0 16 119 113 6 Brandon 0 0 0 67 67 0 Ryan 0 0 0 80 70 10 Marlon 19 0 19 30 30 0 Owen 9 2 7 77 77 0 Elliot (variant of Elliott) 0 0 0 25 25 0 Destiny 0 0 0 14 14 0 TOTAL MALES 1,003 72 931 16,920 16,480 140 Table 14. Comparative use of male given names between the 1960s and the 2010s in Spain In terms of quantity with regard to the number of English names, Table 14 reveals clear differences between the decade of the 1960s and the decade of the 2010s. This sample of given male names reveals that in the 1960s, around 1,000 males had English names, and from that total, most of them (931) had been born outside Spain. By contrast, in the 2010s this amount has increased substantially, and almost 17,000 men in Spain have English names. From that total, 16,480 Spanish males — since they have been born in Spain — have English names, whereas only 140 men have been born abroad. It is important to highlight that the decade of the 2010s is still in progress, and there is still half of this decade to come (5 years more), therefore, this current figure will surely be increased by the end of this decade In terms of analysis of the naming process, as Lieberson wisely states (1984, 85), “the naming process… may well represent changes of the sort found in fashions, with CARMEN LUJáN-GARCíA 161 names fi rst being used by highly visible and glamorous people. Th is in turn spreads out to the masses until they lose any glamorous appeal and become clichés”. Each of the compiled names in Table 14 shows the remarkable increasing tendency to choose these given names for Spanish’ children. It is worth mentioning the cases of Aaron with 27 men in Spain in the 1960s, and from which total, 11 men had been born abroad. In the 2010s, the fi gure increases to 3,838 men with that name, and from that total, 3,829 — most of them — are native Spanish. Th e case of Eric should also be highlighted, as in the 1960s, there were only 315 males in Spain with that given name, from which 289 had been born abroad. In the 2010s, the amount is 3,960 men with that name, from which 3,947 are Spanish, and only 9 men have been born abroad. Eric is an English and Swedish name, thus the infl uence of English has most probably been more important in Spanish parents than Swedish. Nil is another given name whose frequency of use has changed from 0 in the 1960s to 1,502 Spanish men with that name. Th is given name, whose origin is English, Scott ish and Irish, is an adaptation from Neil. Eventually, the case of Destiny must also be underlined, since it is not only a new introduced name in Spanish, but it is also used by parents to call boys and girls. Th e current total count of men called Destiny is 134 whose average age is 13.7, and it is also used to name girls and the evidence of that fact is that there are 33 girls in Spain with that name and the average age is 12.6. Figure 5 shows a comparison regarding the use of some male given names in the 1960s and the 2010s. figure 5. Comparative frequencies of the 10 most common English names of males in the 1960s and the 2010s Now a similar analysis of female names will be carried out, having Table 15 as the main point of reference to determine the evolution of the following 25 chosen female names. Given name Total decade: 1960s Born in Spain Born abroad Total decade: 2010s Born in Spain Born abroad Jennifer 98 15 83 234 227 7 Sheila 55 21 34 906 906 0 162 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 2/2015 Jenifer (variant of Jennifer 0 0 0 55 55 0 Coral 313 296 17 488 488 0 Erica (feminine of Eric) 36 12 24 211 211 0 June 24 0 24 1,027 1,027 0 Yasmin (variant of Yasmine) 42 1 41 953 940 13 Evelyn 168 13 155 346 346 0 Cynthia 36 3 33 156 156 0 Brenda 40 4 36 167 167 0 Naomi 22 0 22 240 233 7 Sheyla (variant of Sheila) 0 0 0 110 110 0 Yasmine (variant of Yasmin) 5 5 0 300 282 18 Katherine 35 1 34 38 38 0 Kiara (variant of Ciara) 0 0 0 204 204 0 Chloe 0 0 0 924 915 9 Melody 0 0 0 50 50 0 Emily 22 2 20 214 202 12 Ashley 0 0 0 204 199 5 Kelly 18 0 18 32 32 0 Kira (variant of Ciara) 18 6 12 143 143 0 Amy 26 1 25 104 104 0 Kimberly 0 0 0 43 43 0 Agatha 9 9 0 100 100 0 Keila (variant of Kayla) 10 1 9 66 66 0 TOTAL FEMALES 977 390 587 7,315 7,244 71 Table 15. Comparative use of female given names between the 1960s and the 2010s in Spain Generally speaking, the figures in Table 15 are quite revealing, since in the 1960s, a number of 977 women had any of the English names in this corpus in Spain, and from that total amount, 587 females had been born abroad. In the middle of the 2010s, there are already 7,315 females who are called with some of these names, and 7,244 of these women are native Spanish, and just 71 women have come from foreign countries. In a deeper analysis, in the case of Jennifer, in the 1960s, there were only 98 females with this name in Spain, whereas in the decade of the 2010s, that number has increased to 234 females whose name is Jennifer. There is another variant of this name, Jenifer, which also deserves some attention. In the 1960s, there was nobody with this name in Spain, and in the 2010s, it is used by 55 females. June also deserves some attention, as in the 1960s there were only 24 women with that name, and all of them came from other countries. In the 2010s, the figure has increased to 1,027 females who are called June, and all of them are Spanish, young Spaniards. A similar situation is shown by the given name Chloe. In the 1960s, nobody was called Chloe, and in the 2010s there are 924 girls whose name is Chloe, and from that total, 915 are native Spanish. Sheila and its variant Sheyla are names that have gradually spread in Spain. Sheila CARMEN LUJáN-GARCíA 163 was the name of 55 women in Spain in the 1960s, and 34 of them came from abroad. In the 2010s, there are 906 Spanish women called Sheila. Its variant Sheyla was not used to call any woman in Spain in the 1960s. By contrast, in the 2010s, there are already 110 Spanish females who are called Sheyla. Figure 6 shows the ten most common English names of females comparing the decade of 1960s and 2010s. Figure 6. Comparative frequencies of the 10 most common English names of females born in the 1960s and the 2010s Th e rest of the names included in Table 15 reveal how the frequency of their use has increased considerably throughout the past four decades. Th e comparison between the frequency of use of male and female names in the specifi c decade of the 2010s shows a clear diff erence in terms of quantity. Th ere are 16,480 Spanish males with English names as opposed to 7,244 Spanish females. In that sense, it could be asserted that English names are currently being more frequently used for boys than for girls in Spain. Th e facts presented in this section lead to refl ection on the extent to which societal changes that have taken place throughout those decades—the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010—aff ected and are continuing to aff ect the choices of certain given names for male and female children. Both globalization and the spread of Anglo-American culture across the globe are reasonable explanations for the increased tendency to use English names in Spain. In addition, the Latin American immigration to Spain during these decades have also played a role for the spread of these foreign names. Latin American societies have also been strongly impacted by the infl uence of American English due to their proximity to US and the admiration many citizens in these countries feel for this country. Fashion and sense of modernity associated with English are also two important reasons to explain this phenomenon. Probably, such parents associate those names with such values as fashion, prestige, modernity, and glamour; and they have probably taken the names from celebrities, celebrities’ children, other famous people, characters in TV serials and soap operas, characters in fi lms, and so on. For instance, the name Ethan is the fi rst name of the main character in the popular Mission Impossible series of movies starring Tom Cruise. Th e fi rst in the series 164 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 2/2015 premiered in Spanish cinemas in 1996 and was seen by 3,141,962 moviegoers in Spain. The second in the series premiered in 2000 with 3,372,446 viewers in Spain. The third was released in 2006 and had a lower number of viewers—1,324,539 (Ministerio de Educación). Considering those figures, it could be stated that the Mission Impossible series of films has been quite popular in Spain, and so, it is likely that the first name of the leading character, Ethan, who is a superhero, has encouraged parents to choose that name for their male babies. This does not mean that each celebrity name becomes popular among Spanish babies, but in the case of Ethan, there could be a connection between the popularity of the film and the extensive use of this name among Spanish boys. Related to that matter, Lieberson (1984, 79) ascertains that “if parents name their daughters after glamorous movie actresses, then there will be shifts in first names that reflect the decline of aging stars and the rise of new ones”. In other European countries, the situation does not seem much different from Spain’s. In 2008, Fischer’s research shed light on the use of English names in different European countries, concluding that “it could be suggested that Germany, Austria and Denmark are susceptible to the English name Emily, and possibly also to the Anglo-American culture generally” (Fischer 2008, 115). When parents living in Spain, who are not native speakers of English, choose foreign, mostly English, names for their children, it could be stated that they seem to have a positive attitude toward Anglo-American culture. These parents have the freedom to choose Spanish or any other foreign given name for their children, but they choose English names. This is a situation that did not use to happen some decades ago, as shown in the previous lines. 4.4. ADAPTATIONS OF FIRST NAMES Some of the names analyzed in this research have been adapted to spellings that use the Spanish phonological system. There are reasons why the spellings of those names get adapted. First, some of the English names are difficult to pronounce in Spanish. Another possible explanation is that there may be a certain level of insecurity about how the name is spelled, as we are referring to foreign names. To illustrate, the names Jennifer and Jenifer are variants of the same name, so it could be that parents are not confident about how to spell the name. More examples of the spellings of an adapted female name are Sheyla and Sheila, and Yasmin and Yasmine, both versions of which are included in the examined list. Both variants have the same pronunciation in Spanish, and parents may be doubtful about which spelling to use. The use of the variants Christopher, Cristopher and Cristofer — not all of which are included in this research; Jhonatan and Yonatan — not included in this study — are also examples of that lack of security about how to spell a name or simply lack of knowledge of the original spelling. A third reason could be that the English spelling of the name does not reflect its pronunciation for speakers of Spanish, for example the name Ryan, Brian or Neil. So, a new version—one that better fits Spanish native pronunciation of that name— arises: Rayan, Brayan and Nil. In the cases of Brayan, Rayan and Nil, I would consider those adapted names as pseudo-English names, since they originally come from Ireland, England or Scotland, but they have undergone a process of adaptation to the Spanish phonetic system. Therefore, they seem not to be purely English names. CARMEN LUJáN-GARCíA 165 5. CONCLUSIONS Further research on this topic can lead to more conclusive evidence. Despite the limitations of this study, however, the following conclusions may be drawn. Analysis of variable gender reveals in principle that no noticeable differences— in quantitative terms—may be established between the choice of English names for boys and girls. Some parents seem to choose foreign first names for boys and girls. However, an analysis in depth of the choice of those English names in the decade of the 2010s shows that there is a higher frequency of boys than girls with this kind of names in Spain. This seems to be an increasing tendency for both genders, but it is more remarkable in the case of the males. When it comes to variable age, the weighted average age of those people with the examined given names is 13 years old in the case of the boys and around 20 years old in the case of the girls. It means that the choice of these names seems to have been started earlier in the case of the girls than in the case of the boys. Most of these first names started being chosen in the second half of the 1990s and in the 2000s. It supports the hypothesis that this is a relatively recent phenomenon in Spanish society. This period of time coincides with the development of globalization in Spain and the massive immigration movement coming from Latin America to Spain. As Martínez Buján (2002) reports, it was in the period of 1997 and 2001 when the immigration from Latin American countries to Spain reached its climax. The contrast between the decade of 1960s and that of the 2010s — which is still in progress — shows that in the 1960s, many of these first names were hardly chosen or not even used in Spain; plus, in many cases, the people who had one of those English names had not been born in Spain. By contrast, in the 2010s, the situation is quite different. The number of uses of English first names included in the list rises considerably, and most of these people with those names are native Spaniards, as they have been born in Spain. In summary, social factors have had an influence on the choice of one given name instead of another. As Lieberson (2000, 69) aptly asserts, “Social factors begin to influence the selection of names in ways that formerly were impossible”. There are external societal influences—social, economic, political, and technological—as well as influences from other nations and cultures that have effects on the name choices. We could consider globalization, immigration and the media as factors influential enough to make certain trends and, consequently, certain given names fashionable and attractive. Western societies seem uniform from many different perspectives as a result of globalization and migration. Fashion, clothing, trade, commerce, business, music, sports, food, and many other areas seem similar to each other throughout the otherwise different Western countries. Some decades ago, in Spain, parents used to choose Latin and religious names or their ancestors’ or relatives’ names: grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts. At present, that tendency still continues, but to a lesser extent. Fashion and prestige are two powerful values that make some parents choose a name such as Sheila instead of Cecilia, the Spanish equivalent of Sheila or Yasmine / Yasmin instead of Spanish Yasmina. Even 166 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 2/2015 when babies were baptized in Spain a few decades ago, most priests made parents choose at least one biblical name to stand next to another name that was not biblical. Nowadays that habit is no longer common. Parents can freely choose first names for their children. 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