I remember my first Spanish class in elementary school. Sra. Santaniello walked around the room and asked everyone our names. John, she said, would be Juan. Mary would be Maria. And, me? Well, she furrowed her brow and renamed me Miguel. “Baxter” just did not translate and it doesn’t work now for my Portuguese lessons either.
My name, my middle name really, is an old English surname meaning “baker” and the direct equivalent would be “padeiro.” However, Padeiro is most definitely not on any list of Portuguese baby names. Neither would one find my first name because it is spelled with a “y” which wasn’t included in their alphabet until the 2000’s.
The idea of a middle name, a segundo nome, is completely strange to Brazilians according to my Portuguese teacher though. In any lusophone country, saying that I go by a second name might cause people to think Baxter is my last name. With that perspective in mind, I certainly understand Sra. Santaniello all those years ago.
If you like this blog post, you might enjoy this previous update!
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