sneakers, t-shirts, tennis, keds, sports… the same footwear has been renamed in many ways in different parts of Spain. Yes, the shoes or specifically lifelong sports shoes they acquire a different name depending on the Autonomous Community (and the people).
This recurrent footwear for all outfits, now also called sneakers, a word that is fashionable. More and more we use terms in English to refer to many things or moments, and slippers in this language is one of them.
The pianist james rhodes you have shared through your account Twitter a curious map of Spain that shows the different ways of naming sports shoes in the different areas of our country.

Nike
Followed by sneakers, The most common way of naming them is sneakers, t-shirts or tennis. Sneakers is the most used word in Catalonia, specifically in Barcelona, Girona and Tarragona. Its origin comes from a brand called Wamba, although its spelling is Wow, according to him Institute of Catalan Studies. In Lleida, on the other hand, the word keds, whose origin is in another brand.
I had no idea 🤯
How to say “sneakers” in Spain. pic.twitter.com/UflJ7vwMfp— James Rhodes (@JRhodesPianist) October 15, 2022
In the north, except Galicia, they call them t-shirts, especially in the Basque Country and Castilla y León In Galicia they are tennis, linked to said sport, as in La Rioja, Murcia either Canary Islands. Also in Andalusia they are called tennis, combined with sports shoes and sneakers. In the rest of our country the usual name is slippers.
Other very curious own terms
In addition, in some areas they have their own terms such as espadrilles In asturias, countries in the Basque Country, butterflies in Aragon, keds in Catalonia, bamboos in Murcia or sports Y ankle boots In Andalucia. What do you call them?
Adidas Run 60s 2.0, Women’s Sneaker, FTWR White/Matt Purple Met./Dash Grey, 38 EU
Gioseppo APORA, Women’s Trainers, Black, 39 EU
TOM TAILOR 3291516, Women’s Trainers, Pink, 39 EU
Geox D Skyely E, Women’s Sneakers, Multicolor (Rose Gold/Dk Skin), 39 EU
Nike Revolution 6 Nn, Women’s Running Shoes, Light Violet/Champagne-White, 40 EU
Note: some of the links in this article are affiliates and can bring a benefit to Trendencias.
Photos | @paulaordovas, Nike, @JRhodesPianist