''Carmen'' is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

in the

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

. It has two different origins, with its first root used as a nickname for Carmel, from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

'' karmel'' meaning "vineyard of God", which is the name of a mountain range in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The second origin is from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'', which means "song" and is also the root of the English word "charm". The name of the Roman goddess Carmenta based on this root comes from the purely Latin origin, as is the fragment of archaic Latin known as "

Carmen Saliare The is a fragment of Old Latin, archaic Latin, which played a part in the rituals performed by the Salii (Salian priests, a.k.a. "leaping priests") of Ancient Rome. There are 35 extant fragments of the , which can be read in Morel's ''FPL''. ...

". The name is generally female in Spanish (Carmen), Portuguese (Carmo), Catalan ( Carme), and French and Romanian (Carmen).

Spanish name

As a Spanish given name, it is usually part of the devotional compound names ''María del Carmen'', ''Nuestra Señora del Carmen'' (Our Lady of Carmen), or ''Virgen del Carmen'' (in English,

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic Titles of Mary, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patron saint, patroness of the Carmelites, Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on M ...

), stemming from the tradition of the vision of

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

on 16 July 1251 by Simon Stock, head of the

Carmelite order The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

People

* Carmen Alguindingue, Venezuelan professor and activist, appointed as ambassador to Andorra * Carmen Aranegui (born 1945), Spanish archaeologist and university professor * Carmen Argenziano, American actor *

Carmen Basilio Carmen Basilio (born Carmine Basilio, April 2, 1927 – November 7, 2012) was an American professional boxer who was a two-time Undisputed Welterweight Champion and Undisputed Middleweight champion, beating Sugar Ray Robinson for the latter ...

, American professional boxer * Carmen Bernand, French historian and Latin Americanist * Carmen Blanco y Trigueros, Spanish writer, poet, journalist * Carmen Bozello y Guzmán, Puerto Rican writer * Carmen Calisto, former Ecuadorian first lady * Carmen Camacho (singer) (born 1939), Philippine Kundiman Diva * Carmen Camacho (writer) (born 1976), Spanish writer of flash fiction and aphorisms * Carmen Campagne (1959–2018), Canadian singer * Carmen Carrera, American reality television personality, model and burlesque performer *

Carmen Cavallaro Carmen Cavallaro (May 6, 1913 – October 12, 1989) was an American pianist. He established himself as one of the most accomplished and admired light music pianists of his generation. Music career Carmen Cavallaro was born in New York City, Uni ...

, American pianist * Carmen Conde, Spanish poet * Carmen Cozza, American football and baseball player * Carmen Dorantes Martínez, Mexican politician *

Carmen Dragon Carmen Dragon (July 28, 1914 – March 28, 1984) was an American conductor, composer, and arranger who in addition to live performances and recording, worked in radio, film, and television. Early years Dragon was born in Antioch, California, ...

, American conductor, composer and arranger * Carmen Ennesch, Luxembourgish-French journalist, writer, and historian * Carmen Espinoza-Rodriquez, American singer-songwriter * Carmen Ejogo, British actress and singer *

Carmen Electra Carmen Electra (born Tara Leigh Patrick, April 20, 1972) is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis where she met Prince (musician), Prince who produced her Carm ...

, American actress * Carmen Fanzone, former Major League Baseball player and horn player * Carmen Febres-Cordero de Ballén (1829–1893), Ecuadorian writer, poet * Carmen Garayalde (1913–2002), Uruguayan teacher, exiled political activist, and artist * Carmen García Bloise (1937–1994), Spanish trade unionist and politician * Carmen Herrera, Cuban-born artist * Carmen Hillinger, German Paralympic wheelchair fencer * Carmen Kass, Estonian supermodel * Carmen Labaki, Lebanese / Brazilian movie director and producer * Carmen Laforet, Spanish author * Carmen Lombardo, Canadian-American jazz saxophonist and vocalist * Carmen Maciariello, American college basketball coach * Carmen Maki, Japanese singer * Carmen Martín Gaite, Spanish author *

Carmen Maura María del Carmen García Maura (born 15 September 1945) is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, she has starred in films such as '' Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'', '' ¡Ay Carmela!'', '' Common Wealth'', an ...

, Spanish actress *

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretati ...

, American jazz singer * Carmen Mican, Romanian handball player * Carmen Milano, American lawyer and gangster *

Carmen Miranda Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature ...

, Portuguese-Brazilian samba singer and film star * Carmen Nebel, German television presenter * Carmen Olarte, Venezuelan voice actress * Carmen Olmedo (1909–1985), Peruvian actress, dancer, songwriter, vedette * Carmen A. Orechio, American politician * Carmen Osbahr, American puppeteer * Carmen Perrin (born 1953), Bolivian-born Swiss visual artist, designer, and educator * Carmen Policy, American attorney and American football executive * Carmen Radu, former CEO of Eximbank Romania * Carmen Rinke, Canadian boxer *

Carmen Rizzo Carmen Rizzo (born April 8, 1964) is an American record producer, mixer, programmer, DJ, remixer and recording artist, based in Los Angeles. The two-time Grammy nominee has worked with Seal, Coldplay, Paul Oakenfold, Alanis Morissette, Dido, Jem ...

, American record producer * Carmen Rodríguez (politician) (born 1949), Bolivian politician * Carmen Rupe (1936–2011), New Zealand-Australian LGBT activist and drag-queen * Carmen Salvino, American professional bowler * Carmen Scardine, American football player * Carmen Schentrup (2001–2018), one of the 17 victims who was killed in the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, part of the Miami metropolitan area, Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 18 ot ...

Carmen Silva Carmen Silva (April 5, 1916 – April 21, 2008), who was often credited as Carmem Silva, was a Brazilian television, stage and film actress. She was best known in recent years for her role on the Brazilian telenovela, ''Mulheres Apaixonadas'' in ...

, Brazilian actress *

Carmen Silvera Carmen Blanche Silvera (2 June 1922 – 3 August 2002) was a British actress. Born in Canada of Spanish descent, she moved to Coventry, England, with her family when she was a child. She appeared on television regularly in the 1960s, and achie ...

, British actress * Carmen Sivoli, Venezuelan politician * Carmen Sylva, pen name of Elisabeth of Wied, queen of Romania * Carmen Suleiman, Egyptian singer * Carmen Trutanich, American politician * Carmen Inoa Vazquez (born 1942), Latina psychologist, professor, and author * Carmen Vidal, Spanish cosmetologist * Carmen Villalobos, Colombian actress * Carmen J. Walters, American academic administrator and college president * Carmen Zuleta, Venezuelan judge

Fictional characters with the name Carmen

* Carmen, the main character in

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, an import ...

's novella ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' (1845), which is the basis for

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

's opera ''

'' * Carmen (Lana Del Rey song), titular character in a song by American singer-songwriter

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

, taken from her second studio album''

Born to Die ''Born to Die'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on January 27, 2012, through Interscope Records and Polydor Records as her major label debut. A reissue of the album, subtitled '' The Paradis ...

'' * Carmen Diaz, a supporting character in Netflix's ''

Cobra Kai ''Cobra Kai'' is an American Martial arts film, martial arts comedy drama television series created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and distributed by Sony Pictures Television. It serves as a sequel to the first three ''The K ...

'' in which she is the mother of Miguel Diaz and love interest of

Johnny Lawrence (character) John "Johnny" Lawrence is a fictional character in The Karate Kid (franchise), The ''Karate Kid'' media franchise, portrayed by William Zabka. Introduced in the film ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), Johnny briefly returns at the beginning of the sequel ...

* Carmen, a character from the movie, '' Happy Feet Two'' * Carmen, a character from the 2002 Indonesian drama movie, '' Ada Apa Dengan Cinta'' * Carmen, Humbert Humbert's term of endearment for the titular character of Nabokov's ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

'' * Carmen Cortez, a character from the '' Spy Kids'' trilogy * Carmen de la Pica Morales, character on Showtime's lesbian drama, ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'' * Carmen Diaz is an aspiring dancer, singer, and actress in the musical, Fame (musical) * Carmen Lopez (character), a fictional character from the TV series, ''George Lopez'' * Carmen Lowell, character from the '' Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' series * Carmen Pryde, father of ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

'' character

Kitty Pryde Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character First appearance, first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (January 1980) and was ...

Carmen Sandiego ''Carmen Sandiego'' (sometimes referred to as ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'') is a media franchise based on a Carmen Sandiego (video game series), series of computer video games created by the American software company Broderbund. Whi ...

, character from the '' Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?'' franchise * Carmen Sternwood, a character in Raymond Chandler's '' The Big Sleep'' * Carmen, supporting character of '' Totally Spies!'' in which she is the mother of super spy

Alex Alex is a given name. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people * Al ...

*Carmen, a villager in the Nintendo video game ''

Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. It was created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. The player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals and can ...

'' * Carmen, the main character in Colombian TV series, ''

Always a Witch ''Always a Witch'' () is a Colombian television series starring Angely Gaviria, Sofia Bernal Araujo, Dylan Fuentes, Valeria Henríquez, Carlos Quintero with Lenard Vanderaa. The plot revolves around Carmen Eguiluz (Angely Gaviria), a witch and s ...

'' * Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, the main character in the American comedy-drama series ''

The Bear (TV series) ''The Bear'' is an American psychological comedy-drama television series created by Christopher Storer for FX on Hulu. Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmy Berzatto, an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage the ch ...

'' * Carmen Agnelli, a supporting character in the Japanese light novel series '' Reign of the Seven Spellblades'' *Carmen, a character, occurring in the Project Moon video games ''

Lobotomy Corporation ''Lobotomy Corporation'' is a 2018 indie game, indie Horror game, horror Roguelike, rogue-like strategy video game, strategy management simulation video game developed and published by South Korean studio Project Moon for Microsoft Windows. Set in ...

'', ''

Library of Ruina ''Library of Ruina'' is an indie deck-building turn-based role-playing game developed and published by South Korean studio Project Moon. Initially released for Windows and Xbox One on August 10, 2021, it is a direct sequel to the 2018 PC game ' ...

'', ''

Limbus Company ''Limbus Company'' is an indie gacha strategy video game for Microsoft Windows and mobile devices using iOS or Android, developed and published by South Korean studio Project Moon. It was released worldwide on February 26, 2023. The game is se ...

'', comics and novels

References

External links

Behindthename website

Thinkbabynames website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmen Spanish unisex given names Spanish feminine given names Romanian feminine given names Feminine given names

Spanish name

People

Fictional characters with the name Carmen

See also

References

External links