| Carmen | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | kär'mĭn |
| Gender | male/female |
| Origin | |
| Word/Name | Hebrew and Latin, respectively |
| Meaning | Vineyard of God, Song, Truthful, Poetry |
| Region of origin | Italy, Romania, English- and Spanish-speaking countries |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Carmelita, Carmelito, Carmelina, Carmelino, Carmella, Carmela, Carmelo, Carmel, Carmina, Carmine, Carmo, Carme, Karmin, Coromin |
| The "vineyard of God" origin is from Hebrew karmel -- the "song" origin is from Latin carmen (3rd decl subst); the two origins are unrelated | |
Carmen is a unisex given name that represents two names taken as one. Its first (and original) root is Italian and Spanish, used as a diminutive nickname for Carmel and Carmelo (respectively), from Hebrew karmel, "God's vineyard." The second (and more recent) origin is from Latin carmen, which means "song," "tune," or "poem" 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. While in English the name is unisex, in Italian and in Spanish it is generally female.
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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), stemming from the vision of Mary the mother of Jesus on 16 July 1251 by Simon Stock, head of the Carmelite order.
Its presence in literature:
In Nabokov's 'Lolita', the name is used in reference to Mr Clare Quilty, the man who takes Lolita from Humbert. Carmen and Clare being both male and female names, Lolita uses them to deceive Humbert into thinking he is a woman and no threat.