THE MEANING & THE CONTEXT
The story behind Candelaria
Candelaria is recorded as a female given name in Tagalog. The source gives a linguistic connection through Spanish, specifically the form Candelaria. Quoted root glosses describe elements in the etymology, not an automatic translation of the complete personal name.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /kandeˈlaɾja/Standard-Tagalog
- [k̠ɐn̪.d̪ɛˈlaɾ.jɐ]Standard-Tagalog
Can · de · lar · ia4 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Spanish
- /kandeˈlaɾja/
- [kãn̪.d̪eˈla.ɾja]
Can · de · la · ria4 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from Spanish Candelaria (“Candlemas”), mostly a reference to the Virgin of Candelaria, an epithet of the Virgin Mary common in Latin America.
a female given name from Spanish, a reference to the Virgin of Candelaria
Wiktionary: Candelaria (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
From candela (“candle”) + -ario + -a, shortened from Virgen de la Candelaria, epithet of the Virgin Mary as "Virgin of Candelaria."
a female given name
Wiktionary: Candelaria (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
2
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Candelaria in the birth records
Exact spelling, stated year, published top-ten tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Available publications: 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. No 2021 count is inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Candelaria
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Candelario·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Cesaria·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Alegria♀Given name documented in Philippine-linked records; lexical meaning not established here
- Asteria·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Caelan♂Given name documented in Philippine-linked records; lexical meaning not established here
- Caesar♂Given name documented in Philippine-linked records; lexical meaning not established here
- Candida·Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Carmela♀Name formation documented in dictionary sources
What rhymes with Candelaria?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Explore Candelaria further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Candelaria (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Candelaria (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.