As the Earth Turns.

[Rusty Bridges]

Really like this Spanish-Mexican language diversion on this thread, but it rankles me a bit because I failed to become a proficient Spanish speaker. My aunt and uncle had a housekeeper who emigrated from Cuba before Batista was overthrown. This lady was a joy. She was brilliant. She spoke four languages, French, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian and Cuban dialect) and English. She was a great housekeeper who, with her family, went on to develop two sub-divisions. And for the longest time, she still continued to keep house for a select number of clients who helped her when she first came to the states. What rankles me is that she often spoke Spanish to the children, alternating from English, and many of us took to it. But our parents and family frowned on that, so she spoke English. I took rudimentary Spanish in high school and didn't apply myself because the teacher lacked the joy and warmth of my aunt's housekeeper. That's on me, really. Still, in my limited knowledge of Spanish, I know a few choice commands, directives, verb forms and terms of affection thanks in large measure not to my high school teacher, but to this charming and talented woman who treated our family so kindly. Oh, and BTW, her brand of preference was Coke. Dark rum optional, but never at work. Even as a kid, I knew what a "Cuba Libre" was... and stood for.

[landtuna]

It's not "no" but a question of proportion. More folks named Lupe are women, but there are plenty of men with the name, generally combined with another given name.

And here I thought we were talking about formal names and not nicknames or partial names. Once again, I have never encountered a male Hispanic with a formal name Guadalupe either. Females, yes. Even a town near me. But no Bubbas.

And......I didn't say there were no "Lupe". I just said I had never met one (so they must be fairly rare).

[CTListener]

And here I thought we were talking about formal names and not nicknames or partial names.

My original question was about "Lupe." "Guadalupe" didn't enter the conversation until David posted his insightful clarification. I didn't mean to stir up a hornet's nest. I honestly had never run into a Lupe -- male or female -- in my town because the name is hardly ever used by Puerto Ricans, so my experience was based completely on watching Mexican boxers on TV.

[DavidEduardo]

And here I thought we were talking about formal names and not nicknames or partial names. Once again, I have never encountered a male Hispanic with a formal name Guadalupe either. Females, yes. Even a town near me. But no Bubbas.

And......I didn't say there were no "Lupe". I just said I had never met one (so they must be fairly rare).

Not rare at all. Not all that popular today, what with parents creating names out of combinations of syllables of other names and all that, but there are plenty of males with Guadalupe as part of their given name, just as there are quite a few men with María as part of the given name, starting with the 5-time president of Ecuador, José María Velasco Ibarra.

Here is the wiki of "José María"

José María (abbreviated José Mª) is a Spanish language male given name, usually considered a single given name rather than two names, and is a combination of the Spanish names of Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus Christ.[1] The separate names "José" for males and "María" for females also exist in the Spanish language. They can also combine in the inverse order forming the female name "María José" (M.ª José); that is, the gender of the compound names "José María" and "María José" is determined by their first component. The name "José María" is colloquially shortened to "José Mari", "Josema" or replaced by the hypocoristic forms "Chema" or "Chemari".

Also from Wikipedia RE: Guadalupe

"Today, the name "Guadalupe" is relatively common in Hispanic countries, especially in Mexico, where it can be a personal name as well as a place name.[citation needed] As a personal name, it can be given to both boys and girls. Notable examples of men named Guadalupe are Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico, and Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo, a Mexican politician."

So even a president was named Guadalupe!

[DavidEduardo]

My original question was about "Lupe." "Guadalupe" didn't enter the conversation until David posted his insightful clarification. I didn't mean to stir up a hornet's nest. I honestly had never run into a Lupe -- male or female -- in my town because the name is hardly ever used by Puerto Ricans, so my experience was based completely on watching Mexican boxers on TV.

Yep, "Guadalupe" and the diminutive "Lupe" is common mostly in México where the devotees of the Virgin are concentrated.

Related is the name "Juan Diego" who was the indigenous person who saw multiple apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Mexico. Even one of my grandsons in Ecuador is named Juan Diego in his honor.

Yeah, off the subject but very related as it does demonstrate the differences in culture of today's LA population, which makes comparisons of today's radio to the days of KHJ and the early decades of KRTH totally irrelevant.

[CTListener]

The Jose Maria a good number of Americans may be familiar with is Jose Maria Olazabal, a Spaniard who won two Masters golf titles.

[oldies76]

I have never encountered a male Hispanic with a formal name Guadalupe either. Females, yes. Even a town near me. But no Bubbas.

There's always Guadalupe Island off northern Baja!

[landtuna]

I will bet there are more German men with the middle name of Maria than Hispanic males.

[DavidEduardo]

I will bet there are more German men with the middle name of Maria than Hispanic males.

Technically, there are no "middle names" in Spanish. There are: given name(s), paternal surname and maternal surname.

"Given names" can be as simple as Juan or Ana, or compound, such as María de los Ángles. And they can be made up of several names, such as Ana María or Juan Diego.

Juan Diego is not "Juan" with a middle name. "Juan Diego" is inseparable. A friend, whose name is Juan José, is never addressed as "Juan". His nickname is "JJ" in both English and Spanish.

As to José María, check this out:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa

It's a really common name. As the article says, "José María" is a common name, and many famous people have this name or a similar one"

[Kemosabe]

Yeah, off the subject but very related as it does demonstrate the differences in culture of today's LA population …

Viva El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula!