Carmen (name)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Carmen |
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| Pronunciation | kär'mĭn |
| Gender | male/female |
| Meaning | "garden" and "song" |
| Region of Origin | Italy, Romania, English- and Spanish-speaking countries |
| Origin | Hebrew and Latin, respectively |
| Related names | Carmelita, Carmelito, Carmelina, Carmelino, Carmella, Carmela, Carmelo, Carmel, Carmina, Carmine, Carmo, Carme, Karmin |
| Wikipedia articles | All pages beginning with Carmen |
| The "garden" origin is from Hebrew karmel, the "song" origin is from Latin carmen; 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, "garden". The second (and more recent) origin is from Latin carmen, which means "song", "tune", or "poem". In early 20th century slang, it referred to train conductors. While in English the name is unisexual, in Italian and in Spanish it is generally female.
[edit] Spanish name
As a Spanish given name, it is usually part of the devotional compound names María del Carmen, Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Our Mrs 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.
[edit] Presence in Literature
Carmen was a poetically allusional name in Nabokov's Lolita. In this book, he often called his young lover "Carmen", a surprisingly appropriate allusion considering that the book refers to a hotel called "The Enchanted Hunters," a foreshadowing that he would be "Hunting Carmen" near the end. Here is an excerpt of its subtly misleading poem:
- O my Carmen, My little Carmen!
- Something, something, those something nights,
- And the stars, and the cars, and the bars, and the barmen--
- And O my charmin', our dreadful fights.
- And the something town, which we so gaily, arm in
- Arm, we went, and our final row,
- And the gun I killed you with, O my Carmen,
- The gun I am holding now.
