User comments for Che

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Being from Argentina, I have never heard this used as a name. People just use 'Che' as a formal kind of "Hey you". The only way I can think to compare this is to say that it is kind of used like "Dude" in the States.

― writing the world 2/13/2007

In Mexico Che is short for "pinche" which is equivalente to the "f" word in English.

― michi_vane 3/3/2007

Wasn't this the name of the narrator in the movie Evita?

― Anonymous User 4/7/2007

Che & Cheo are Spanish nicknames for Jose in many parts of the world.

― Etymologa 5/19/2007

The word CHE is a suffix from the Mapudungun language, this native language is still spoken in Southern Latin America including Argentina and Chile. The suffix 'che' means 'people'. For example 'curiche' meaning dark people (curi: black+che: people), 'mapuche' (mapu: earth, field+che: people) referring to those who belong to this native group. In Argentina, the term CHE was taken from Mapudungun and it is still used as a vocative only, but never as a name. -Spadilla, MA Linguist

― susanpad 11/16/2007

A silly little name for idiots who worship Che Guevara.

― slight night shiver 4/20/2008

Che is not a name, it's an expression. Che Guevara was insane, so why name your kid after him?

― bananarama 7/23/2009

This is NOT a name. AT ALL. I'm a native Spanish speaker.

The only reason Ernesto "el Che" Guevara was nicknamed "el Che" is because he was Argentinian (the reasoning for this comes rom the fact that "Che" is a common Argentinian mannerism/linguistic filler so it was a way to set him part).

― ely_riverbank 4/17/2011

Please DO NOT even consider naming your kid Che! It's not a name. Plus, Che Guevara is a terrible namesake. He was quite arrogant, and he was extremely racist against blacks and Mexicans. Still think he's a good namesake?

― Bonquiqui 6/7/2012

Che Guevara was actually quite respectful to blacks, and was not insane. Not saying he was a good person (that's debatable, as are most things), but I do protest some of the claims made about him here.

― ComradeJocasta 6/1/2015

This name is not used at all in Spain.

― Anonymous User 9/19/2012

Che can be used as a (part) diminutive of José. For example, a common nickname for José María or José Manuel is Chema.

― overtheclouds 11/9/2012

Please, don't! Che Guevara was a jerk, and definitely not someone you'd want to name your kid after.