You have to look at each particular name to understand why a word with that meaning developed into a given name.
For the Spanish names you mention, most of them are "
Marian devotion" names which come from titles of the Virgin
Mary. Originally the full name was something like "
Maria de los
Dolores" (
Mary of the Sorrows), and it was only gradually from shortening that full form that
Dolores by itself became a given name.
Claudius wasn't a given name originally but a family name which indicated an ancestor was lame. It was nickname which developed into a family name, and then only later became a given name in honor of particular members of the
Claudius family.
I think most of the Italian names would go back to a similar religious origin like the Spanish ones. I must say that whether a particular term is "negative" or not is also subjective and influenced by both cultural and personal factors. I am very surprised to see you include
Modesto in your list, because to me modesty is a highly valuable and positive trait.
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