Mexican slang nicknames are something else: “Hey Chela, vamos por unas chelas!”
Have you ever heard your Mexican acquaintance Jesús answer to Chucho? Did you know that your friend Chabela probably has Isabel written on her birth certificate? Believe it or not, the names are the same, when looking at how Mexicans apply diminutive.
Almost every first name has its diminutive version in Mexico. The author of The Mexican Slang Dictionary, Alasdair Baverstock lists some of the most common you might hear bandied around as your social circle grows.
Alberto – Beto
Concepción – Concha
Cuauhtémoc – Cuau, Temo, Temoc
Enrique – Kike, Kikis
Ernesto – Neto
Gilberto – Gil, Beto
Graciela – Chela
n.b. The slang word for ‘beer’ is also ‘Chela’, due to the similarity between the words ‘Graciela’ and ‘Cerveza’.
Guillermo – Memo
Ignacio – Nacho
Jesús – Chuy, Chucho, Churras
José – Pepe, Che
José María – Chema
Lucía – Lucha, Chia
Manuel – Manu, Manolo
María del Rosario – Charo, Chayo
Mercedes – Meche
Pablo – Pavo
Patricio – Pato
Rosalba – Chava
Salvador – Chava
Sergio – Checo
Sofía – Chofi, Choso
Vicente – Chente
You can buy “The Mexican Slang Dictionary” on Amazon in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. MND readers in San Miguel de Allende can pick up a copy at Aurora Books.
Alisdair Baverstock is the Mexico City based author of The Mexican Slang Dictionary.
