Galician names
Galician names come with an honest caveat. The most-given names in Galicia today are the same ones given across Spain, Mateo and Martin and Sofia and Vega, so this is not a list of chart-toppers. It is the set of Galician-language names that survived alongside them, and they are unmistakable when you see one: the x that sounds like sh in Xoan and Uxia and Xurxo, and Iago, the name inside Santiago and so inside the whole pilgrimage.
Amancio loving one; a Galician-rooted classic kept visible by businessman Amancio Ortega
Antía the Galician form of Anthia, flower-like; among the most-given Galician-language girls' names
Anxo angel (Galician form of Ángel); a plain Galician-language rendering of a Spain-wide classic
Brais the Galician form of Blaise; short, consonant-heavy, and one of the most recognisably Galician boys' names
Breixo the heather plant (Galician); a nature name drawn straight from the Galician countryside
Fiz happy, fortunate (Galician form of Felix); one of the shortest names in Galician use
Iago the Galician form of James, and the root of Santiago, from Sant Iago, Saint James; the name the whole pilgrimage is built on
Icía the Galician form of Cecilia, and so tied to the patron saint of music
Iria from Iria Flavia, the Roman town near Padrón where the body of Saint James is said to have arrived
Lois famous warrior (Galician form of Luis); borne by the poet Lois Pereiro, a figure of modern Galician letters
Noa traditionally linked to rest and comfort; a top-3 girls' name in Galicia in 2024 and a favorite across Spain
Roi the Galician form of Rodrigo, famous, powerful; a medieval name carried by the troubadour tradition
Sabela the Galician form of Isabel, God is my oath; the Galician version drops the opening syllable entirely
Uxía well-born (Galician form of Eugenia); carried by the singer Uxía, a central voice in Galician music
Uxío well-born (Galician form of Eugenio); borne by Uxío Novoneyra, one of the great Galician-language poets
Xacobe the Galician form of Jacob and James; the root of the Xacobeo, the holy year of the Camino
Xela the Galician short form of Ánxela, angel; informal and used as a full name
Xoana God is gracious (Galician form of Joanna); the feminine of Xoán, with the same sh sound
Xoán God is gracious (Galician form of John); the x is pronounced sh, which is the sound that marks Galician spelling
Xurxo farmer, earth-worker (Galician form of George); doubly Galician in spelling, with the x sound twice
Which of these fits YOUR family? →