Thoughts on a Spanish boy's name

jaz464 · August 2014

Hello everyone, I'm about 6.5 weeks pregnant and I've already got a pretty long list of names I've put together for consideration. My bf is from Puerto Rico and I like the idea of a Spanish name, especially if we are having a boy. So far I like Matteo, Diego and Maximo but my favorite is Desiderio. Or Dezi for short. Same name as Ricky Ricardo's from the I Love Lucy show (Desi Arnaz). I prefer the Z however, as I think it prevents the pronouncitation from becoming "Dessy." Colleagues I've talked with have been iffy on the name, with a few saying he may be teased as a child. I just adore the name but don't want anything that will create problems. I'd love the board's feedback on Dezi?

Dr.Loretta · August 2014

Just go with Desi. I doubt many people are going to mispronounce it.

Desiderio is kind of a big name, but he'll likely go by Des or Desi most of his life, so NBD.

FTR, my nephew is Desmond, NN Des (with an S) and no one mispronounces it.

plunderb · August 2014

Don't pass on the name you love because you worry that your kid might get teased. No name is tease-proof. Besides, when he's sitting in class with Jaxxton and Khyleigh, who's going to say "wow, you have a weird name"?

And I'd go with Desi.

le bebe xo · August 2014

Desiderio is one of my very favorite names. I went to school w a Desi (not short for anything), and everyone knew how to pronounce his name. Awesome name!

DIY7 · August 2014

I grew up with the majority of my friends being East Indian and "Desi" has a different meaning. I'd look into that. Also, Mateo is the correct Spanish spelling. Maximo (accent over the a) would be too slangy for me, it's used as "cool, the best, etc.) Diego is my favorite!

mermaid1113 · August 2014

NMS, but out of all of them I do like Mateo.

jaz464 · August 2014

Wow, everyone prefers Desi to Dezi. I wasn't expecting that. Thanks for the feedback

Spin313 · August 2014

I also prefer Desi to Dezi, although I don't really care for the name that much.

I love Matteo. I'll also suggest Javier or Alejandro.

KTZ17 · August 2014

I dislike Desiderio. It has too many syllables for my liking, and as a person who has been called by the nickname for my formal name for my whole life, I implore you not to name your son something you will never call him. Also, since the z sound in Spanish sounds like an s, Desi is not pronounced the way Americans said Desi Arnaz's name. The Dezi pronunciation you're going for is not what Spanish speakers would consider a nickname for Desiderio. I think Desmond would be a better choice if you're going for Dezi. I also wanted to second @DIY7‌ , that Mateo is the spelling in Spanish and Matteo is in Italian. I like Mateo. Other suggestions: Matias, Santiago, Valentín, Gonzalo, Isaias, Nicolás, or Gabriel?

KTZ17 · August 2014

Joy2611 said:

and as a person who has been called by the nickname for my formal name for my whole life, I implore you not to name your son something you will never call him
********* As another person who has been called a nickname of her given name all her life, I disagree. I love the versatility.

Yeah, this preference varies person to person. But for me, whenever I'm at the doctor or something and they call out my given name, it doesn't register for me. I think it depends on the name, and in the case of Desiderio, for me it's too long and complicated to use the full name. If it were like Joe and Joseph or Alex and Alexander I wouldn't mind it, ykwim?