How commonplace is this Spanish pejorative term?
March 27, 2016 9:30 AM   Subscribe

My wife and I are really, really hoping to name our (possible girl) baby "Zora"--as in Zora Neale Hurston. However, we recently learned that "zorra" is a slang term in Spanish roughly equivalent to b**** or c***. We live in an area with a sizable Spanish-speaking population. So, two questions: (1) Are we interpreting the term correctly? (2) How widespread is its use?
posted by anonymous to Writing & Language (16 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I've lived in California, Arizona and Miami. I've always understood it to mean Fox, as in Foxy Lady. But I was young in the seventies.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:36 AM on March 27, 2016


In Peruvian Spanish, the connotation is closer to prostitute. I'd say it's a well-known term even if there's more commonly used slang for the same concept.
posted by limagringo at 9:39 AM on March 27, 2016


I'm from Puerto Rico, where "zorra" is used more as "slutty". However I don't think you need to worry, as Zora and zorra sound different enough due to the single-vs-double r situation. I don't think anyone is going to do a double take or anything when they see her name. Also I assume you will be pronouncing it with a soft r, which further removes it from zorra.

Could kids use her name to tease her? Maybe, kids are creative that way. But I don't think it's a name that will cause her grief or make any abuelitas clutch their pearls :)
posted by DrGirlfriend at 9:39 AM on March 27, 2016 [9 favorites]


I can't speak to how widespread the slang meaning is, though I think it's pretty common. The word is the feminine form of the word for "fox", so it's going to be pretty much universally recognized at least with that meaning.

I don't think having a name that sounds kind of like a word that has some vulgar connotations is really likely a problem. They don't really sound that similar as others pointed out. The spellings aren't the same. There are lots of words that sound kinda similar between any two languages, and people don't usually pay attention to that. I can definitely imagine some kid on the playground making the connection but they'd find something else if the name wasn't available to them. I don't think every Spanish-speaker who meets her is likely to mentally associate her with the word "zorra".
posted by mister pointy at 9:58 AM on March 27, 2016


Zora and zorra are two different words. That a non-native-spanish-speaker might not easily hear the difference doesn't change that for native-speakers. There's no more danger here than naming your kid "Beach" or "Doug" and worrying that someone might turn it into b**** or dog.

And for the record, I've never heard the word zorra used that way. I've heard it used to mean fox and used to mean something like "clever" in a negative way -- like wily.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:08 AM on March 27, 2016 [6 favorites]


Yes, although it's more whore/slut. Depends on the region – Bolivians don't say this but Mexicans do.

In written form someone might raise an eyebrow, but Z and R are completely different sounds in English and Spanish.
posted by O9scar at 11:13 AM on March 27, 2016


I'm from Venezuela. We use "zorra" (female fox) as whore. However, Zora is the nickname for Zoraida, which is a very common name. I actually have a couple of friends named Zoraida and we all call them Zora, absolutely nothing wrong with that.
posted by 3dd at 11:21 AM on March 27, 2016 [6 favorites]


One of my friends has a daughter named Zora, and she goes to a school where about 25% of her classmates are Latino. Hasn't been an issue.
posted by box at 11:37 AM on March 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


Just to note that in English a female fox is a vixen while a male is usually a dog or dog fox.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:41 AM on March 27, 2016 [2 favorites]


The pronunciation difference is unmistakeable to Spanish speakers: the single R is pronounced with a single tongue flap (sort of like "Zoda") and the double R is rolled or trilled.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:49 AM on March 27, 2016 [5 favorites]


to beat this dead horse into the ground - it's not just that it's pronounced differently, it's that spanish speakers hear it in a way an english speaker do not (just as to, me, there's an obvious difference between ship and sheep, which is not as easily audible to (most) spanish speakers). so in a sense you're asking if calling something a ship runs the risk of it being heard as a sheep (or chip, or cheap).
posted by andrewcooke at 11:57 AM on March 27, 2016 [11 favorites]


Native mexican/spanish speaker here.

Yes, Zora and zorra have different sounds but it's not like it's a huge leap to go from one to the other. Calling someone zorra is equivalent to calling them a slut. I would not name my child that anywhere near a community with lots of latinos.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 10:25 PM on March 27, 2016 [1 favorite]



The pronunciation difference is unmistakeable to Spanish speakers: the single R is pronounced with a single tongue flap (sort of like "Zoda") and the double R is rolled or trilled.


Except that out of those who pause at the name, not knowing how to pronounce it, half are going to go the hard "r" route, and say zorra.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 10:29 PM on March 27, 2016


I don't see why anyone would pronounce it "zorra" unless they are not Spanish speakers and assume the name is Hispanic.

If you or your wife were Hispanic you wouldn't be asking this question, so you're safe from any clueless gringo friend thinking they have to say "hola zorra, io me iamo pedrro".
posted by Promethea at 5:28 AM on March 28, 2016 [4 favorites]


In Chile it means 'pussy', in the sexual anatomical slang sense, not as an insult, just as a way to refer to the body part. 'La zorra' means roughly 'the shit', as in super good or awesome.
Zora sounds different enough to Zorra to avoid confusion, but I wouldn't want my kid on the playground to be such an easy target for nicknames / bullying.
posted by signal at 6:13 AM on March 28, 2016


Perhaps analogous: a friend's sister named her son Malachi (like the book of the bible) and he frequently gets called malaka (wanker/jerkoff) in a community with a few Greek speakers. I think it's less about what a sensible adult would make of the name, and more about what a ratbag kid would do with it.
posted by Cheese Monster at 2:12 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]


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