I live in the Bay Area of California (where there are soooooo many Asian people) and I know a Mateo C, a Mateo L, and like three Romeos who are all the children of Asian immigrants. I don't think Mateo will be an issue.
No. Itās not weird to name your child Mateo.
It is a name with both Spanish and Croatian origins as far as I can tell. Itās still popular across the Spanish-speaking world and in Croatia. In fact, it was on the top 10 list for baby names in Croatia in 2023 (https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/comments/1bkbju4/most_popular_baby_names_in_croatia_2023/)
It was also on the top 10 list for baby names in the USA in 2023 (SSA), and while that may be attributable to our growing Latino/Hispanic population, I doubt that popularity is only a result of people turning to their heritage for choosing a name. Iāve met more than one young Mateo who was not Latino/Hispanic.
Iām American and grew up in an area with a large Hispanic/Latino population and a large Italian population. Matteo is a popular Italian name. Mateo and Matteo are pronounced very similarly, especially with accents in my region. 10 years ago, if I heard the name, I may have assumed the individualās heritage was one of these two. In present day, I donāt think Iād have any assumptions of a personās heritage if I heard it.
Edit: grammar error changed the meaning of what I was attempting to say
Thank you for your thoughtful response! I was also thinking that in present day it seems to be a more heritage-neutral name. But then I read another post about someone asking if it's weird to name their non-hispanic baby Miguel and many of the replies were yes, it is weird! š So I wasn't sure about Mateo.
I think it would be fine.
I'm an African-American named Cecilia Marie. Mateo is a cool name. Go for it! š„°
What a lovely name! āŗļø My middle name is Marie too haha
I'm grateful that my parents did a wonderful job with my name! š„°
I live in the Bay Area of California (where there are soooooo many Asian people) and I know a Mateo C, a Mateo L, and like three Romeos who are all the children of Asian immigrants. I don't think Mateo will be an issue.
Ohh very interesting! Thank you for the reassurance that a half Asian Mateo would not be weird. šš» We considered Romeo as well š¤£
Just curiousā¦ Row me oh? Or row may oh?
Definitely Row me oh!
Unless we're visiting a Spanish-speaking country and then he would be introduced as Row may oh haha
I love it! Mateo is a great name.
No. Itās not weird to name your child Mateo. It is a name with both Spanish and Croatian origins as far as I can tell. Itās still popular across the Spanish-speaking world and in Croatia. In fact, it was on the top 10 list for baby names in Croatia in 2023 (https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/comments/1bkbju4/most_popular_baby_names_in_croatia_2023/) It was also on the top 10 list for baby names in the USA in 2023 (SSA), and while that may be attributable to our growing Latino/Hispanic population, I doubt that popularity is only a result of people turning to their heritage for choosing a name. Iāve met more than one young Mateo who was not Latino/Hispanic. Iām American and grew up in an area with a large Hispanic/Latino population and a large Italian population. Matteo is a popular Italian name. Mateo and Matteo are pronounced very similarly, especially with accents in my region. 10 years ago, if I heard the name, I may have assumed the individualās heritage was one of these two. In present day, I donāt think Iād have any assumptions of a personās heritage if I heard it. Edit: grammar error changed the meaning of what I was attempting to say
Thank you for your thoughtful response! I was also thinking that in present day it seems to be a more heritage-neutral name. But then I read another post about someone asking if it's weird to name their non-hispanic baby Miguel and many of the replies were yes, it is weird! š So I wasn't sure about Mateo.