Spanish names that start with ‘J’ include classics like Juan, José, and Javier, for boys, alongside choices like Juana, Juanita, and Juliana, for girls.
Jorgelina is a feminine form of Jorge (the Spanish version of the name George). Although the Spanish name Jorgelina starts with a ‘J,’ it corresponds to English names like Georgia, Georgette, and Georgina, which begin with ‘G.’
Juana is the feminine form of the name Juan, the Spanish version of John. Therefore, the Spanish name Juana can correspond to the English names Joanna and Joan.
Josefa and Josefina are feminine forms of José (the Spanish form of the name Joseph). The spelling of Josefa and Josefina uses the letter ‘f’ instead of the letter combination ‘ph’ used in Joseph and Josephine. This is common in Spanish spelling and can be seen in words like “filosofía” (philosophy) and “fonética” (phonetics).
The Spanish name Jacinta starts with a ‘J’ while its English equivalent, the rather rare name Hyacinth, begins with an ‘H.’ These are flower-related names because the word “hyacinth” (“jacinto” in Spanish) refers to a type of flower.
Jazmín (the Spanish version of Jasmine) is another flower-related name. This one originates from the Persian language.
Jaime is a Spanish male name that corresponds to the English names Jacob and James. In English, the name Jaime exists all well and is used both as a male and as a female name (it is a variant of Jamie) but in Spanish, it is only a male name.
Most Spanish male names that begin with ‘J’ have English equivalents:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Juan | John |
| Jorge | George |
| José | Joseph |
| Jerónimo | Jerome |
| Jaime | Jacob, James |
| Jacobo | Jacob |
| Josué | Joshua |
| Jeremías | Jeremy, Jeremiah |
| Joaquín | Joachim |
| Javier | Xavier |
| Julio | Julius |
| Julián | Julian |
| Joel | Joel |
The Spanish name Jairo is more common than the corresponding English name, Jair. Also, the Spanish name Jesús is widely used, whereas, in English, Jesus is not frequently used as a given name.
Many Spanish names that start with ‘J’ originate from Hebrew, for instance, Joaquín (Joachim in English), Jaime (Jacob or James in English), Juan (John), Josué (Joshua), Jeremías (Jeremiah), and José (Joseph).
In several of these cases, the original Hebrew name is formed from the Hebrew word “Yahweh” which means “God.”
Jacinto is a Spanish name that comes from Ancient Greek. The corresponding English name, Hyacinth, is rather rare.
Javier is a Spanish name that comes from the Basque language.
The name José is used in the formation of many compound Spanish names, such as José María, José Ramón, and José Manuel.
The Spanish name Justo has the same Latin origin as the English name Justin. Both originate from the Latin word “iustus” (which means “just” and is the source of the English word “justice”).
Juanito is a diminutive of the Spanish name Juan, similar to how Johnny in English is a diminutive of the name John. The same suffix also produces the diminutive Joselito from the name José. But the diminutive form of Javier (Javi) is formed through a clipping rather than a suffix.
| Individual | Occupation |
|---|---|
| Jorge Luis Borges | Writer from Argentina |
| Juan Ramón Jiménez | Spanish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature |
| Julio Iglesias | Spanish singer |
| Javier Bardem | Spanish actor who starred in movies such as “No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall,” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” |
| José Saramago | Portuguese writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature |
| Julieta Venegas | Singer |
| Juan Carlos I | Former King of Spain |
| Joaquín Sorolla | Spanish painter |