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ArchivesPronunciation of Eden in Spanish
In looking over the names new to the SSA top 1000 list for boys this year, I was surprised to see "Eden" making the boys' top 1000 for the first time.
Eden has normally been a female name in the USA for the last couple of generations. First thinking of it with the English pronunciation of the Biblical place name, I couldn't figure out why parents would have suddenly started giving it to boys.
But then it dawned on me that perhaps this is a Hispanic-American respelling of Aidan! Hispanic parents in the USA often respell Brian and Ryan as Brayan and Rayan because those spellings are what yield the English "I" sound in Latin American Spanish. So maybe Eden is what would yield the English pronunciation of Aidan in Spanish?
So, Spanish speakers, does that make sense? Would the spelling "Eden" sound like the English "Aidan" in the Spanish accent of most Latin American immigrants to the USA?
Eden has normally been a female name in the USA for the last couple of generations. First thinking of it with the English pronunciation of the Biblical place name, I couldn't figure out why parents would have suddenly started giving it to boys.
But then it dawned on me that perhaps this is a Hispanic-American respelling of Aidan! Hispanic parents in the USA often respell Brian and Ryan as Brayan and Rayan because those spellings are what yield the English "I" sound in Latin American Spanish. So maybe Eden is what would yield the English pronunciation of Aidan in Spanish?
So, Spanish speakers, does that make sense? Would the spelling "Eden" sound like the English "Aidan" in the Spanish accent of most Latin American immigrants to the USA?
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Replies
Edén (the correct Spanish spelling) sounds [e'ðen] (eh-DHEN) and it is traditionally used for boys in Spanish speaking countries since long time ago; think about Edén Pastora (the Comandante Cero), born in 1938. And that it is used as masculine name is not surprising because, not being linked with Marian titles, the place name is masculine in Spanish (el Edén).
I think that the use of Edén as given name in Spanish predates the use of Eden in English (and that is why is very surprising to a lot of Spanish speakers the use as girl name), mainly in some American countries where the Biblical names are very popular.
Perhaps the US Hispanics see Edén as a refreshing alternative to Efrén and that is why it suddenly growns up in popularity.
A Spanish respelling of the English pronunciation of Aidan is Eidan, which is not unknown.
I think that the use of Edén as given name in Spanish predates the use of Eden in English (and that is why is very surprising to a lot of Spanish speakers the use as girl name), mainly in some American countries where the Biblical names are very popular.
Perhaps the US Hispanics see Edén as a refreshing alternative to Efrén and that is why it suddenly growns up in popularity.
A Spanish respelling of the English pronunciation of Aidan is Eidan, which is not unknown.
This message was edited 5/10/2009, 7:30 AM
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Thank you!
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