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Here are some examples of diminutives for common Spanish names for men and women. Most of these names are used in Mexico but they may be a little different in other countries.
Ale, Alex » Alejandro (Alexander)
Beto » Alberto, Roberto
Bety » Beatriz
Carmela, Carmelita » Carmen
Coco » Socorro (women’s)
Concha » Concepción (there is some prejudice against this name in Argentina, but it’s common elsewhere)
Chabela » Isabel, Elizabet.
Chela » Graciela
Chelo » Consuelo (women’s name)
Chente » Vicente
Chema » José María (men’s, yes, this applies to combined names too)
Chencho, Chencha » Inocencio, Inocencia (Old fashioned name but used in Telenovelas)
Chepina » Josefina
Chole » Soledad (women’s name)
Chucho, Chuy » Jesús
Dani, Dany » Daniel
Fer, Nando » Fernando
Fito, Rudi, Rudy » Rodolfo
Goyo » Gregorio
Güicho » Luis
Javi » Javier
Juanita » Juana
Lalo » Eduardo (Edward)
Leti, Lety » Leticia
Lola, Lolita » Dolores (women’s name)
Lucha » Luz, Luz María, María de la Luz. (women’s name)
Lulú » Lourdes
Lupe, Lupita, Pita » Guadalupe (typical women’s name in Mexico)
Malena » María Elena
Manolo » Manuel
Meche » Mercedes
Memo » Guillermo (William)
Mena » Filomena
Maricarmen » María del Carmen
Marilú » María de Lourdes
Moy » Moisés (Moses, Moshe)
Neto » Ernesto
Nacho » Ignacio
Nico » Nicolás
Paco, Pancho, Quico » Francisco
Pati, Paty » Patricia
Pato » Patricio (Patrick)
Pepe » José (Joseph)
Pili, Pily » Pilar
Polo, Polito » Leopoldo
Poncho » Alfonso
Quico, Fede » Federico
Quique » Enrique (Henry)
Tavo » Gustavo, Octavio
Teté » Esther
Teto » Héctor
Toño » Antonio
Meche » Mercedes. No, this name is not to honor the car, the car was named after María de las Mercedes, daughter of Emil Jellinek, who later changed his name to Emil Jellinek-Mercedes (he took his daughter’s name) and who became the Consul General of Mexico in Nice, France, between 1907 and 1910.
In Spanish, these short names are less formal than in English. For example, Bill is Memo. But in Spanish you will never hear of a president who calls himself Memo Clinton or even Memo González. These names are not used on official documents, credit cards, etc.
First published on 20070721 (spanishNY.com) Update: 20070821. Last updated on 20210408 top
