Candelario
Masculine · “Spanish”
Candelario is a date. It comes from Candelaria, the Spanish name for Candlemas on 2 February, the feast of the Presentation, when candles are blessed — and it belongs to a Catholic tradition of naming children for the feast day on which they were born.
How old is the name Candelario?
Candelario first appears in US birth records in 1907 — 118 years ago. The typical Candelario alive today was born around 1960, making them about 65 years old. About 1,500 people named Candelario are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Candelario most popular?
Candelario peaked in 1945, reaching #1122 nationally. Today it ranks #7194, 6,072 places below that high. See the whole 1945 chart.
Candelario appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From candela to Candelario
The story of Candelario
Calendar naming is a real system, not a coincidence: in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian Catholic practice, a child born on a feast could be named for it, which is why Natividad, Concepción, Asunción, Rosario, Dolores, Trinidad and Candelaria all exist as personal names. Several are used for both sexes with a change of ending. The Virgin of Candelaria has been venerated in Tenerife since the fifteenth century, and Spanish colonization carried the devotion to Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and the Philippines, each of which now has major Candelaria festivals. The American figures peak in 1945, following Mexican-American families for whom the name was already ordinary.
Meaning
Spanish, from Candlemas — "of the candles"
From Latin candela, a candle, from candere, to shine or glow — the same root as candid and incandescent. The feast on 2 February marks the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Virgin, and takes its name from the blessing and procession of candles. Candelaria is the feminine form and the older name; Candelario is the masculine formed from it. The Virgin of Candelaria is the patron of the Canary Islands and, from there, of much of Latin America.
How the name formed
- candela
- Candelaria
- Candelario
Related forms: Candelaria · Candeloro · Candelário
Pronouncing Candelario
kan-deh-LAH-ree-oh
Five syllables, stress on the fourth, with pure Spanish vowels throughout. English speakers usually reduce it to four and put the stress on the second, which changes the name considerably.
Nicknames for Candelario
Moderate
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
- 1907
- Most boys named
- 192938 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1122reached in 1945
- Change vs 2022
- +22.2%11 in 2025, from 9
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.
Candelario in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Candelaria in Spanish — related form
- Candeloro in Italian — same name
- Candelário in Portuguese — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Candelarios among us
people named Candelario are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 155,280 born in 2025 was named Candelario
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 Isamu test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Candelario's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Isamu climbed just as high around 1922, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Isamu's path sketches the road Candelario is walking now.
Candelario 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
Candelario beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Candelario in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and vivid: the candles of a named feast day.
- It is fully established in Spanish-speaking countries with a long devotional history.
- Cande and Lalo are ready short forms in Spanish.
- Five syllables is long for American use and will be shortened immediately.
- English speakers will not stress it correctly without help.
- It reads as strongly traditional and Catholic, which is a specific register.
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What they receive
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Candelario
Masculine · #7194 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Candelarios are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Candelario are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Candelario in 2025?
- Candelario ranks #7194 among US boy names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Candelario?
- About 1 in every 155,280 US boys born in 2025 was named Candelario — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Candelario with classmates?
- Candelario will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Candelario
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Junius#7194 · Orie#7194 · Shade#7194 · Chesley#7194 · Joesph#7194 · Lofton#7194 · Macon#7194 · Benjiman#7194
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Candelario? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Candelario and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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