Here are some of the inventive baby names that have been bestowed in Cuba over the last few decades:
- Adianez (Zenaida backwards)
- Ailed (Delia backwards)
- Boris
- Aledmys
- Danyer (from the English word “danger“)
- Dayesi
- Dianisleysis (in honor of Princess Diana)
- Disami
- Geyne (combination of Geronimo and Nelly)
- Hanoi (from the name of the capital of Vietnam)
- Juliabe
- Katia
- Leydi (from the English word “lady”)
- Maivi (from the English word “maybe”)
- Mayren (combination of Mayra and Rene)
- Migdisray (combination of Migdalia and Raymundo)
- Milaidys (from the English phrase “my lady”)
- Odlanier (Reinaldo backwards)
- Olnavy (from “Old Navy”)
- Orazal (Lazaro backwards)
- Robelkis (combination of Roberto and Belkis)
- Tatiana
- Usarmy (from “U.S. Army”)
- Usmail (from “U.S. Mail”)
- Usnavi (from “U.S. Navy”)
- Widayesi
- Yadel
- Yakarta (based on Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia)
- Yamisel
- Yander
- Yaneymi (combination of Yanet and Mijail)
- Yanisey
- Yasnaya (possibly based on Yasnaya Polyana, the name of several locations in Russia)
- Yirmara
- Yoanni
- Yoelkis
- Yohendry
- Yolaide
- Yordanka
- Yosbel
- Yotuel (from the Spanish words yo, tu, el, meaning “I, you, he”)
- Yovel
- Yulieski
- Yumara
- Yumilsis
- Yunier
- Yuri
- Yuset
Why all the Y-names? It has to do with the Soviet Union’s influence in Cuba, which made Russian-sounding names (often ones that start with Y) fashionable on the island for a number of years. In fact, Cubans born during the ’70s and ’80s have been referred to as Generación Y.
Lillian Guerra, a professor of Cuban history at the University of Florida, says that names like Usmail and Usarmy began popping up in the 1990s, when Cubans started coming into contact with American travelers and culture.
Aurora Camacho, a member of the Cuban Institute for Literature and Linguistics, notes that more traditional names like Maria and Pedro are still being used in Cuba, but “certainly with less frequency.”
Sources:
- “Julio or Juliabe? Inventing Baby Names Popular in Cuba.” Fox News Latino 7 May 2012.
- Rosenberg, Eli. “Postales del Mundo: Yoenis, Yoani, Yúnior… cómo nombrar a un niño cubano.” New York Times en Español 10 Jun. 2016.
Image: Adapted from Oldtimers on Paseo de Marti, Havana, Cuba by kuhnmi under CC BY 2.0.
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