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.