🇪🇸 Baby Naming Rules in Spain
Spanish law sets exactly three limits on a first name, and they are shorter than the restrictions most guides describe. The rule about names that confuse the child's sex belonged to the old registry act and did not survive into the current one.
- Legal basis
- Article 51, Ley 20/2011 del Registro Civil
- Authority
- Oficina del Registro Civil
- Deadline
- Hospitals report within 72 hours; otherwise ten days
- How many names
- No more than two simple names, or one compound name
- Sex of the name
- Not required under the current act
- Approved list
- None, each case is assessed by the registrar
The three limits, in full
Article 51 of Ley 20/2011 contains the whole of the restriction on first names, and it is short enough to summarise completely.
First, no more than two simple names or one compound name may be recorded. Second, names may not be imposed that are contrary to the dignity of the person, nor names that make identification confusing. Third, a child may not be given a name already borne by a sibling with identical surnames, unless that sibling has died.
There is no closed list of banned names. The registrar assesses each case against those criteria, which is why reports of rejected names describe individual decisions rather than a register of prohibited words.
How the birth reaches the register
Where a child is born in a hospital, clinic or other health establishment, the management of that establishment reports the birth to the relevant civil registry office within seventy-two hours.
Where the birth happened outside such an establishment, or the document was not sent in time, the people obliged to promote the registration have ten days to declare the birth at the general or consular registry office.
The rule about names that confuse the child's sex is out of date
Guides to Spanish naming law routinely state that names which induce error as to sex are prohibited. That prohibition came from the registry act of 1957. It is not in Article 51 of Ley 20/2011, which replaced it.
What the current article prohibits on the identification question is different and broader: names that make identification confusing. Sex is not mentioned. The practical effect is that a gender-neutral name is assessed on whether it makes the person hard to identify, not on whether it sounds masculine or feminine.
Sources
Every statement on this page is taken from an official or judicial source. The links below go to the originals so you can check them yourself.
Last reviewed: August 2026. This page explains the rules in general terms and is not legal advice. Where a decision matters to you, ask the authority that will register the name.