Why Does Esperanza Dislike Her Name?

The name Esperanza means "hope," but she hates her name. She feels it means "sadness, it means waiting." She explains that it was her great-grandmother's name--a woman who was born in the Chinese Year of the horse, like Esperanza. ... Her other frustration with her name is its foreignness.

Why did Esperanza want a different name?

Esperanza describes how her name is pronounced differently in Spanish and in English and at school. She wants to change her name to something that shows her true, secret self. ... Esperanza's desire to change her name shows both an understanding of the power of language and a desire for her own identity and agency.

What does Esperanza say about her name?

When Esperanza says her name means “waiting,” she has taken the Spanish verb esperar, which means “to wait or expect,” and superimposed it on the noun hope.