Do you know how to write the names of famous people such as Michelangelo or Jules Verne in Spanish? While keeping the name in its original language is today's rule of thumb, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule. Let's take a look.

Well-established Spanish Equivalent Names

Even if today, the preferred choice is to simply transfer the original name, there are several names of famous historical figures that are usually translated. The following is a list of some of them:

Thomas Moore - Tomás Moro

Albrecht Dürer - Alberto Durero

Hieronymus Bosch - Jerónimo Bosco; el Bosco

Michelangelo Buonarotti - Miguel Ángel

 

Miguel Ángel, el gran artista italiano.

Michelangelo, the great Italian artist.

Caption 19, Aprendiendo con Carlos - El microrrelato

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Jeanne d’Arc - Juana de Arco

Karl Marx - Carlos Marx

Niccolo Machiavelli - Nicolás Maquiavelo

Jules Verne - Julio Verne

Johann Sebastian Bach - Juan Sebastián Bach

Alexandre Dumas - Alejandro Dumas

Martin Luther - Martín Lutero

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Names of Saints, Popes, and Royalty

This is another exception to the rule. Let's see a couple of examples:

Queen Elizabeth II - reina Isabel II

Prince Philip - príncipe Felipe

 

Su marido es el príncipe Felipe, duque de Edimburgo.

Her husband is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Captions 25-26, El Aula Azul - Adivina personajes famosos

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Pope Ioannes Paulus II (Latin); John Paul II (English) - Juan Pablo II

 

Fuimos a la beatificación del Papa Juan Pablo Segundo.

We went to the beatification of Pope John Paul the Second.

Caption 9, Latinos por el mundo - Chilenas en Venecia

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Nicknames of Famous Historical Figures

In order to preserve their semantic connotations, the nicknames of famous historical figures are also translated into Spanish:

Ivan Vasilyevich; Ivan the Terrible (English) - Iván el Terrible

Pépin le Bref (French); Pepin the Short (English) - Pepino el Breve

Considering all of the above, the important thing to keep in mind is this: Although the current trend is in favor of the original form, there are some famous names that currently alternate the use of the transferred form and its translation. For example, instead of using the original Catalan name Antoni Gaudí, you could use its Spanish version (Antonio Gaudí), just as our friend Víctor does in his series about this famous architect:

Antonio Gaudí era catalán y lo decía con mucho orgullo.

Antoni Gaudí was Catalan, and he said it with great pride.

Caption 16, Víctor en España - Vida y legado de Antonio Gaudí

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And that's all for today. By the way, do you know what the Spanish equivalent of your name is? Find out and let us know, and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.

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Let’s talk about numbers today. Ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," and "third," express position, order or succession in a series. Let's take a look at some of the rules that you need to keep in mind when using ordinal numbers in Spanish.
 

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The first ten ordinals are very often used in spoken Spanish so let’s take a moment to review them: Primero (first), segundo (second), tercero (third), cuarto (fourth), quinto(fifth), sexto (sixth),

séptimo (seventh), octavo (eighth), noveno (ninth) and décimo (tenth).
 
Generally speaking, the ordinal numbers in Spanish go before the noun and agree in gender and number with the noun they are describing:
 

Las primeras imágenes que veo son impactantes, la verdad,

The first images that I see are shocking, truthfully,

Caption 34, Iker Casillas - apoya el trabajo de Plan

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A very important rule regarding the ordinals primero (first) and tercero (third) is that they drop the final ‘o’ before a masculine noun:

Y por ejemplo este nuevo disco es vuestro tercer disco creo... tercero o cuarto.

And for example this new record is your third record I believe... Third or fourth.

Caption 65, Bajofondo Tango Club - Mar Dulce - Part 1

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Ordinal numbers can be simple or compound. Simple ordinals have their own form while compound ordinals are made by joining simple numbers. The ordinal numbers “eleventh” and “twelfth” are unique in Spanish because they can have both simple and compound forms. For example, we could write the ordinal “twelfth” as a simple number (duodécimo) or as a compound one (décimo segundo):
 

En el dos mil diecisiete, El Real Madrid ganó su décima segunda '"Champions".

In two thousand seventeen, Real Madrid won its twelfth championship.

Caption 39, Carlos explica - Los Números: Números Ordinales

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Also, let’s remember that we use ordinal numbers for sovereign figures like kings, queens and popes. In this case, the ordinals are placed after the noun they describe:
 

Fuimos a la beatificación del Papa Juan Pablo Segundo.

We went to the beatification of Pope John Paul the Second.

Caption 9, Latinos por el mundo - Chilenas en Venecia

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That's it for now. Remember to memorize and practice the first 10 ordinals as they are commonly used in everyday language! And don’t forget to send your feedback and suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.