What does Don Juan mean?

Question

Is Don Juan a sort of nickname? I heard two guys talking and one called the other Don Juan, but I know that is not his name. What does it mean?

Answer 1

It´s usually used to refer to a real lady´s man. A bit like the proper name Casanova is also used.

Don Juan Juicki

Is this a nice way of saying that, or is it an obscene word? Thank you very much for your reply! - happyhrj, Mar 18, 2013

I think it´s pretty neutral. Doesn´t make much of a judgement, but rather just presents the facts. I think any judgement would be in the tone alone. Hth. - rogspax, Mar 18, 2013

Thank you! - happyhrj, Mar 19, 2013

Answer 2

Hi Happyhrj.

As Rogspax said, it means a lady’s man. The Don Juan legend comes from a literary tradition which is explained in Rogspax’s link.

You might find this interesting also: in Spanish, don is not a name, like Don in English, as in short for Donald. Rather, it is a title, maybe a little bit like Esq. (Of course, now, Esq. has lost its original meaning and usually implies that the person is an attorney.)

Don, though, (doña in the feminine) was originally an acronym for de origen noble, meaning “of noble origin” or “of noble birth”; someone from the aristocratic class. It was later used, after los conquistadores took over Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America, as a racist term. It was a way of saying that a person was all white, and not of mixed lineage, like los criollos, por ejemplo. (The implication being that el don or la doña was either born in Spain or never had anyone who was not white in his/her family tree.)