The preterite of llamarse is used to express what someone was called or named at a specific point in the past. For example, “The company was called Sunrise before” – “La empresa se llamó Sunrise antes.”

This is a regular -ar reflexive verb in the preterite. Remember to include the appropriate reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before the conjugated form of llamar.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Llamarse (to be called) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of llamarse expresses past states of being called or named.

To be called/named: Used for referring to previous names or titles, for example Me llamé Juan en el pasado (I was called Juan in the past), or Se llamó diferente antes del cambio legal (It was called something different before the legal change).

To go by (a name): Refers to using a particular name, for example Se llamaron Los Tigres (They went by The Tigers).

Examples

Examples of Llamarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me llamé Juan durante el juego de rol. (I called myself Juan during the role-play.)

¿Cómo te llamaste en la obra de teatro? (What did you call yourself in the play?)

Se llamó María en el documento falso. (She called herself María in the fake document.)

Nos llamamos “Los Invencibles” en el equipo. (We called ourselves “The Invincibles” on the team.)

Se llamaron “Los Rebeldes” durante la competencia. (They called themselves “The Rebels” during the competition.)

¿Por qué te llamaste así en el formulario? (Why did you call yourself that on the form?)

Se llamó Doctor Smith en la conferencia. (He called himself Doctor Smith at the conference.)

Nos llamamos “Los Exploradores” en el campamento. (We called ourselves “The Explorers” at camp.)

Se llamaron “Los Artistas” en la exposición. (They called themselves “The Artists” at the exhibition.)

Me llamé diferente durante el viaje. (I called myself something different during the trip.)

¿Cómo se llamó el grupo en su primer álbum? (What did the group call themselves on their first album?)

Te llamaste capitán ese día. (You called yourself captain that day.)

Se llamaron “Los Vengadores” en el torneo. (They called themselves “The Avengers” in the tournament.)

Nos llamamos “Los Viajeros” durante la aventura. (We called ourselves “The Travelers” during the adventure.)

Se llamó profesor en la entrevista. (He called himself professor in the interview.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Llamarse (to be called) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.