“Some of the American born hispanic names I’ve heard include Iker, Jerónimo, Jesús Concepción, Eustaquio, Casimiro, Melquaiades, Crisostromo, Rutilio, Humberto, Aniceto, and Luz (spanish for “light”).”
Iker is a Basque name, a neologism from the 1970s or so (during the Basque rennaissance after years of Spanish hegemony), and has become hugely popular because it is the first name of the goalie of the Spanish national soccer team. Jerónimo is a traditional name, the Spanish form of Jerome, and, yes, the correct spelling is with a J (the 19th century Indian was named Geronimo after an alternate spelling).
Jesús used to be one of the most common names in Spanish, and is still relatively popular in many countries. Unlike in England, naming one’s child after the Messiah was never taboo in Spain (and I should note that perhaps the most popular boy’s name in America today, Joshua, is the Hebrew form of Jesus). But Concepción is usually a girl’s name (often coupled with María) and is awkward, to say the least, when used next to Jesús.
Eustaquio, Casimiro, Melquíades (note the spelling), Crisóstomo (not Crisóstromo) and Aniceto are traditional names in Spanish, although they are used far less often in the 20th and 21st centuries. Being from Chicago, I’m sure you’ve heard of people of Polish descent named Casimir, the English form of Casimiro; and you’ve heard of at least one Melquíades: former U.S. Senator Mel Martínez (R-FL), who served until 2010.
Rutilio I’ve never heard of, but it may be a real name, I don’t know.
As for Humberto and Luz, those aren’t merely traditional names in Spain and other Spanish-speaking areas, they are extremely common and popular ones at that. If you saw a list of 1,000 children with Spanish-speaking parents, it would be surprising if at least a couple of boys weren’t named Humberto (which has remained popular while the English Hubert has fallen in popularity) or if a at least a couple of girls weren’t named Luz.
The names given by Hispanic parents that concern me the most are not traditional Spanish ones, but made-up ones such as Yarielys or Jahir.
It's not that uncommon to see a girl's name in a Hispanic boy's name as a second given name, e.g., Jesus Concepcion or Jose Maria, especially when the leading given name itself is very common. (Jose? Which Jose? Oh, Jose Maria...) You may also sometimes see it in forms like Jose de Maria or Jose Maria de (place name).
You are correct that many of the names are routinely used in latin american countries, unlike the made-up white and black names I cited. I guess my objection was more to the fact that American born Hispanics are being given names that aren't used in American culture. For example my GERMAN born great-great grandfather had name "Wilhelm", but my AMERICAN born great-grandfather was named "William" because they anglicized it since he would grow up in the United States. I'm told the spanish equivalent of William is Guillermo and several Hispanics have told that it's actually quite common in Hispanic families to have a Guillermo (I didn't meet anyone named Guillermo in my life until Oct. 2012, however). But the point being that even if their birth name is Guillermo Garcia, they're at least likely to go by "Bill Garcia" in day-to-day life in the United States.
>> Jesús used to be one of the most common names in Spanish, and is still relatively popular in many countries. Unlike in England, naming one’s child after the Messiah was never taboo in Spain... But Concepción is usually a girl’s name (often coupled with María) and is awkward, to say the least, when used next to Jesús. <<
I've seen it used as a female first name, and also as a last name: there was a Hector Concepción that ran for Congress against Luis Guiterrez last year. I've also met at least one person named Jesús de Concepción in my life, or something to that effect. In any case, the Spanish practice of using sacred religious words as names comes across as quite jarring to native English speakers. It would be considered extremely arrogant to name your child "Jesus" or "Angel" in English, for example
>> and I should note that perhaps the most popular boy’s name in America today, Joshua, is the Hebrew form of Jesus) <<
I think you're wrong on this one, I remember there was an internet forum where one person argued they weren't naming their children after Jesus Christ, but that "Jesús" in spanish is simply the equvilent of the name Joshua in English. A native spanish speaker stated that information was incorrect and that the spanish form of Joshua is Josué, and while it's not as commonly used as "Jesús", it is also in use as a spanish name and is NOT a nickname for Jesús or anything. If Joshua was merely the English translation of the Hebrew word, then the old testament of the Bible rendered into English would have "The Book of Jesus" and so on since the names would be interchangeable. It doesn't -- those are two different Hebrew names.
>> Being from Chicago, I’m sure you’ve heard of people of Polish descent named Casimir, the English form of Casimiro <<
Casimir Pulaksi, yes, modern-day Polish Americans named "Casimir", no. Though I must confess a lot of polish names sound even funnier to my English-speaking ears than Spanish names. Like French names, many male polish names sound feminine to English speakers.
>> and you’ve heard of at least one Melquíades: former U.S. Senator Mel Martínez (R-FL), who served until 2010. <<
That's probably who I was thinking of, although he wasn't born in the United States so it's probably a poor example. Shortening it to just "Mel" rendered it perfectly mainstream to English speakers as well.
>> As for Humberto and Luz, those aren’t merely traditional names in Spain and other Spanish-speaking areas, they are extremely common and popular ones at that. If you saw a list of 1,000 children with Spanish-speaking parents, it would be surprising if at least a couple of boys weren’t named Humberto (which has remained popular while the English Hubert has fallen in popularity) or if a at least a couple of girls weren’t named Luz. <<
True, I was reviewing the census records surprised by the number of spanish baby names in Chicago that were some form of a name ending in "Berto", with scores of Alberto's, Roberto's, Heriberto's and Humberto's. The first two are obviously the spanish form of Al and Bob, the latter two are awkward because you rarely see any anglos named "Herbert" anymore and so. That "Luz" literally translates as "light" makes it sound like a silly made up name, but apparently it is commonly used in spanish countries. The latinas I've met with that name tell me I can just call them Lucy.
It's no less strange the girl they're arguing about in this article, with "Blaer" meaning "Light breeze" in icelandic. If I hadn't known that was a made up name, I wouldn't think it was unusual in a scandavian culture. I'm reading a swedish book right now that's been translate to English, and a lot of the "common" swedish names in the book that are left in their original form and sound far more awkward to English speakers: Göske, Håkan, Lacke, and so on. Those are mainstream names in Sweden, but I'd have an easier time getting use to "Blaer".