Candelaria
Feminine · “of Candlemas”
Candelaria is a feast day: the second of February, when candles are blessed and carried in procession, forty days after Christmas. Spanish-speaking families have named daughters for it for centuries, and the Virgin of Candelaria is the patroness of the Canary Islands and of a good many towns from Mexico to Peru.
How old is the name Candelaria?
Candelaria first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Candelaria alive today was born around 1979, making them about 46 years old. About 1,800 people named Candelaria are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Candelaria most popular?
Candelaria peaked in 1929, reaching #1042 nationally. Today it ranks #4758, 3,716 places below that high. See the whole 1929 chart.
Candelaria appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From candela to Candelaria
The story of Candelaria
Naming a daughter for a Marian title or a feast is one of the oldest Spanish and Portuguese habits, and it produced a large family of names: Concepcion, Asuncion, Rosario, Dolores, Candelaria. The Virgin of Candelaria has been venerated on Tenerife since before the Spanish conquest of the Canaries and became one of the images that Spanish settlers carried to the Americas, which is why towns and churches from Mexico to Bolivia carry the name. It came to American records with Mexican and Filipino families in particular.
Meaning
of Candlemas; the feast of candles
Spanish candelaria, from Latin candela, a candle. The feast marks the presentation of Jesus in the temple and the purification of Mary, and takes its popular name from the blessing of candles that belongs to it.
How the name formed
- candela
- Candelaria
Related forms: Candelária · Candelora · Candelera
Pronouncing Candelaria
kan-deh-LAH-ree-ah
Five syllables, stress on the fourth. English speakers usually manage four and put the weight in the same place, which is close enough that nobody corrects it.
Nicknames for Candelaria
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1893
- Most girls named
- 193039 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1042reached in 1929
- Change vs 2022
- −6.7%28 in 2025, from 30
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Candelaria in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Candelária in Portuguese — same name
- Candelora in Italian — related form
- Candelera in Catalan — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida, Alabama.
Candelarias among us
people named Candelaria are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 57,402 born in 2025 was named Candelaria
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Borghild test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Candelaria's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Borghild climbed just as high around 1906, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Borghild's path sketches the road Candelaria is walking now.
Candelaria sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Candelaria is headed
Candelaria should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Candelaria beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Candelaria in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is a single vivid image, a procession of candles in the dark of early February.
- It offers several short forms of very different registers, from Cande to Nela.
- It carries a documented devotional history across Spain, the Canaries and Latin America.
- Five syllables is a great deal of name for an American form, and it gets clipped without being asked.
- The English short form Candy carries associations the full name does not.
- Outside Spanish-speaking communities the feast is unknown, so the name is explained often.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Candelaria to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Candelaria? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Candelaria
Feminine · #4758 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Candelarias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,800 people named Candelaria are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Candelaria in 2025?
- Candelaria ranks #4758 among US girl names in 2025, with 28 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Candelaria?
- About 1 in every 57,402 US girls born in 2025 was named Candelaria — 28 in all.
- Will my child share the name Candelaria with classmates?
- Candelaria will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Candelaria
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Marylou#4758 · Landon#4758 · Lexa#4758 · Alysia#4758 · Ixchel#4758 · Parisa#4758 · Jumana#4758 · Berenice#4758
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Candelaria? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Candelaria and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle