My first week in Spain, someone (maybe a fellow student??) informed me that there was once a law in Spain that mandated that all female children had to be named María (as in, after the Virgen Mary).
Now, Franco might have gotten his crazy on for 35 years in this country, but that seemed a little far-fetched even for him. So clearly, I had to check it out, and by check it out, I mean ask my señora.
What I discovered is slightly more believable and only a little less ridiculous. See, when Franco ran the country, the Catholic Church also ran the country. They were kind of attached at the hip for a while in the early years, and part of that attachment meant that the Church could sort of you know, come up with the rules.
And one of the rules was that parents could only name their children after saints/religious figures/people in the Bible. And there are a whole lot fewer women than men in the Christian pantheon. And it was really really popular to name their girls María after the Virgen Mary. Not mandated, but close.
My señora's name is Maribel. That would be a conjunction of María Isabel. Her daughter's yorkie is called Pitu, but sometimes when she's frustrated with the dog, she calls her MariPitu. Because of the prevalence of María as a name in Spain.
Brooks and Dunn sang a song like that!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the Spanish law . . . very interesting!