Spanish names that start with ‘E’ include options like Enrique, Esteban, and Eduardo (for boys), as well as choices like Elena, Estrella, and Esperanza (for girls). And many more that we will cover in this article.
Some Spanish names start with an ‘E’ because of the way Spanish adapts Latin words. For ease of pronunciation, Spanish often adds an initial ‘e’ to Latin words that begin with an ‘s’ followed by another consonant.
This initial ‘e’ can be seen in Spanish words like “especial” (which means “special”) and “específico” (specific). The original Latin terms (“specialis” and “specificus”) don’t have it.
Some Spanish names are derived from vocabulary words that acquired an initial ‘e’ as they transitioned from Latin to Spanish.
The name Esperanza is one of these. It comes from the Spanish word “esperanza” (which means “hope”), itself derived from the Latin verb “spērō” which means “to hope.”
The name Estrella also begins with an ‘E,’ just like the Spanish word “estrella” (which means “star”) from which it derives. But the original Latin word “stella” and the corresponding English name Stella don’t have that initial letter ‘e’, so they begin with ‘s’.
The Spanish name Esmeralda is a capitalized form of the Spanish word “esmeralda” (meaning “emerald”), which comes from the rather complicated-looking Latin term “smaragdus” that has the same meaning.
Estefanía (and Estefany) are the Spanish equivalent of the English name Stephanie. Both originate from Ancient Greek.
There is a group of Spanish girl names that begin with ‘E’ because their origin includes the Greek prefix “eu-” which means “good.” That’s the same prefix that also appears in English words like “euphoria” and “euphemism.”
Name | Meaning |
---|---|
Eugenia | “well born” |
Eulalia | “well spoken” |
Evangelina | “good news” |
Eutimia | “good spirit” |
Eufemia | “good reputation” |
Some Spanish names start with an ‘E’ because they don’t have the initial ‘H’ that versions in other languages (such as English) have. For instance, Enriqueta corresponds to the English name Henrietta. And Elena has the same ancient Greek origin as the name Helen in English.
Some Spanish names start with ‘E’ while the corresponding English names start with different letters, which can make the connection less obvious. Esteban (the Spanish form of the name Stephen) has an ‘e’ added at the beginning, while Enrique (the Spanish form of the name Henry) has dropped the initial ‘h.’
Other Spanish names, such as Ernesto and Edmundo are very similar to their English versions, the main difference being an added ‘o’ at the end.
Efrén and Efraín are Spanish names that correspond to the English name Ephraim (which comes from Hebrew). Notice how the Spanish spelling of these names uses ‘f’ instead of the letter combination ‘ph’. This is common in Spanish vocabulary words as well, for example: “filosofía” (philosophy) and “fonética” (fonética).
A famous namesake can provide additional appeal to a name. In the case of Spanish first names that begin with ‘E’, there are many famous people with such names, including several singers, novelists, and actresses.
Individual | Occupation |
---|---|
Enrique Iglesias | Spanish singer |
Enrique Morente | Spanish flamenco singer |
Esperanza Roy | Spanish actress |
Esteban Echeverría | 19th century novelist from Argentina |
Elena Anaya | Spanish actress |
Elsa Pataky | Spanish actress |
Enrique Granados | Spanish composer |
Eduardo Mendoza Garriga | Spanish novelist |
Ernesto Sabato | Novelist from Argentina |
Elena Garro | Mexican writer |
Eugenio Derbez | Mexican actor |