What’s In A Name?
Posted by Steve L. on June 1st, 2006 · Comments (14)
Isn’t it about time for a mention (somewhere) about the story behind Melky Cabrera’s first name?
I cannot find anything out there on it. Is “Melky” short for something? Was he named after something or someone?
Is there another person on the earth with the first name “Melky”?
There’s a story here – I just wish someone would tell it.
Same here -I’d love to hear that story. Still, I am just thankful that it is Melky – I think El Leche would be a hilarious nickname.
Maybe Pete Abraham can get that question in.
I’ve read where he and Cano are very, very close in and out of the club house, and yes, his nickname is “Leche!”
Jen – I was toying with asking Pete. Thanks for the push. I just dropped him a line.
FYI, for those who don’t know “Leche” is the Spanish word for milk – and some Yankees call Melky that. I think Cano started to make it public on the last Fenway trip.
MLB writes Melky is his full name but Melquiades (pronounced Mel-kee-oddis)is the spanish equivalent of Mel name.
Maybe it’s a short nickname for Mel.
Thanks Rich. Do you have a link for that? (I can’t find it.)
I wasn’t clear in my post.
MLB.COM (along with yahoo and espn) has his given name as Melky when you look at their “player pages”.
*I* was thinking it might be short for Melquiades (Spanish for Mel).
Thanks Rich. Everything that I found says just “Melky” too.
The only other thing I can think of is that since we have people like Vladimir Guerrero maybe Melky is short for some Spanish version of Melchior, another one of those transposed Eastern Bloc names. It’s just a thought…
I’m wondering now if it has an Indonesian root.
If you google “Melky Indonesian” you will find many with that first name.
FYI, for those who don’t know “Leche” is the Spanish word for milk – and some Yankees call Melky that. I think Cano started to make it public on the last Fenway trip.
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And to add to the FYI, “leche” is also spanish slang for sperm. I’ve heard it used a lot. Given locker room humor, I wouldn’t be suprised if it was used in that context.
A quick search reveals “Melquiades” has its roots in the bible; spanish version of Melchizedek, which can be found here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchizedek
It wouldn’t suprise me a bit to see Melquiades “Americanized” to Melky, or that he would prefer to be called Melky. My full first name is Rafael, but is often shortened to Raf, or Raffy. Same with William, shortened to Will or Bill.
The Biblical character Melchizedek is also the king of Salem, which means in this case the king of peace. He is one of the few biblical characters with no ancestry and no place of burial. That combination has led many biblical scholars to speculate that he might even be a pre-existent Christ figure since no place called Salem existed at the time of his appearance. After a battle Abraham gives him 10% of the spoils as tribute. That is where the modern day Christian Church gets its idea that members should “tithe,” which means give 10%. Gives “Melky” yet another little twist.
It’s almost certainly Melchor, which is the name of one of the three wise men. These names-Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar- are pretty common in Latin America