I think this name is beautiful, and I don't consider the meaning sad (I'm extremely introverted so solitude is something I generally want).
― Anonymous User 5/7/2024
2
Soledad... a rare, poignant prose which wanders almost without aim through the valley of forgotten names. A storyteller of the quiet moments, Soledad is not lonely but content by herself. As a matter of fact, solitude is often her greatest companion. Her name is a song produced by the hushed tones of the heart -- the earth quakes with her footsteps, asking her to contemplate the niceties of this harsh world in a quiet, introspective moment. Exceeding the ordinary, Soledad explores the depth in quietude, something that many people dismiss as a sorrowful thing. In truth, Soledad finds solace in the verses of her solitary heart.
I'm just very happy to find I can read many opinions about Soledad. I'm here after watching a Filipino TV Series "Los Bastardos". Although the TV series revolves around his sons and their romances, I find Soledad and Roman's story to be the most pure and most beautiful. And just by coincidence, I happened to remember the song "Soledad" by West Life. Before, I never actually heard the lyrics clearly but now I go and find the song and realized... THAT SONG COULD HAVE BEEN MADE FOR this love story! I would wish to rename myself, or maybe my non-existent future daughter Soledad.
I am appalled by some of the ignorant comments left by previous commenters. Someone claimed that this name sounds masculine, whereas all Spanish nouns ending in -dad are feminine. Some book learning would not hurt. Someone else said, 'I would not name my child loneliness,' somehow overseeing the key nuance between solitude (Soledad) and loneliness. There may only be the one word in Spanish, but why take the most cynical interpretation, when other synonyms exist, such as the one closest to English?
― Anonymous User 7/6/2020
10
Spanish names like Soledad, Dolores, Socorro, etc. Are very sad, but also very common in Mexico where they're considered more happy and honorable. I happen to think Soledad is a very nice name for a mother in her late twenties (for some reason only that), but not anyone else. Common nicknames are Sol, Sole, Chole, and Marisol, which is usually used only as a nickname for Maria de la Soledad or on its own. I think if you're considering this name for a child, go with Maria or Marisol instead, or another (with a less sad meaning) name from a title of the Virgin Mary, if that's what you're going for, like Corazón or Guadalupe.
Soledad Rendón Bueno, better known by her stage names Soledad Miranda or Susann Korda, was an actress and pop singer who was born in Seville, Spain. She frequently starred in the films of Jess Franco, such as Count Dracula and Vampyros Lesbos, appearing in six films for him in 1970 alone. She also released numerous Spanish-language pop songs throughout the mid-sixties. She died in a car accident on a Lisbon highway at age 27, just as her film career was on the verge of taking off.
I think it's very pretty, but a little sad. I don't think I would want to name my daughter "loneliness". Although it's not as sad as Dolores - Sorrows.
"Our Lady of Solitude", or Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, refers to the "solitude" of the Virgin Mary while her son Jesus was in the tomb between his crucifixion and resurrection. The Name Day for girls named Soledad or Maria de la Soledad is Holy Saturday (the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday), which falls on a different date every year.
In European Spanish c, z plus e, i, sound like th. S always sounds like s so there's no way Soledad would be pronounced 'tho-leh-dath". The d at the end of a word always sounds like d, the th sound at this position is vulgar.
As far as I know, the Spanish "lisp" is with cetain combinations of "c" and "z" (like "ci", "za", etc.), not with the "d". Granted, I could be wrong.If so, the lisp would not mess with the pronunciation of this name.
― Anonymous User 6/25/2007
1
I thought Spanish 'd's were always pronounced like 'th' between two vowels? I think that's what I learned in Spanish class, and we were learning American rather than European Spanish. I also remember something about the d at the end, but I cannot be sure.
― Anonymous User 4/2/2007
0
As a Spanish speaker in the Southwest U.S., the pronunciation given (so-le-DHAHD) is how I pronounce it and how I've heard it pronounced in Spanish.
If it's Spanish it's likely pronounced Sol-u-dath, like ciudad (city) is pronounced see-oo-dath. Also possible are sol-oo-dath and thol-oo-dath - the Spanish 'lithp' (lisp) being evident there in both words.
There's no "lisp", as if it was a pronunciation mistake or something. Th is the natural sound of z, c, in Spanish.
― Anonymous User 9/29/2007
2
The lisp occurs in European Spanish. I've been learning American Spanish for years, and have traveled in Guatemala and Costa Rica, and have not heard the lisp. Perhaps you learned it so that your education would be "well rounded" or perhaps your teacher was simply from Spain?