Candelaria
Candelaria was given to 28 girls in 2025, #4,788 among girls’ names; 2,558 Americans have been recorded with it since 1893 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,710 Americans named Candelaria and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (67% of everyone recorded); the median is 33 years old and half are between 20 and 52.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Candelaria by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Candelaria mean?
Wiktionary, Spanish section
Candelaria is “a female given name” Its etymology gives the senses “candle” (candela) and “Virgin of Candelaria.” (as).
From candela (“candle”) + -ario + -a, shortened from Virgen de la Candelaria, epithet of the Virgin Mary as “Virgin of Candelaria.”
/kandeˈlaɾja/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Spanish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Candelaria?
#4,788 among girls’ names, 2025
Candelaria rose from #7,035 in 2015 to #4,788 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 9.5 to 17.4 per million.
49 babies in 1929, the peak
Candelaria peaked in 1929, when 49 girls were given it, #1,044 among girls’ names. The 28 births of 2025 are 57% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28 | #4,788 | 17.4 |
| 2024 | 25 | #5,180 | 15.4 |
| 2023 | 21 | #5,789 | 13.1 |
| 2022 | 30 | #4,605 | 18.3 |
| 2021 | 22 | #5,599 | 13.4 |
| 2020 | 22 | #5,511 | 13.6 |
| 2019 | 21 | #5,828 | 12.5 |
| 2018 | 23 | #5,486 | 13.5 |
| 2017 | 14 | #7,927 | 8.1 |
| 2016 | 14 | #8,069 | 7.9 |
Every recorded year (125)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 17 | #7,035 | 9.5 |
| 2014 | 22 | #5,829 | 12.3 |
| 2013 | 26 | #5,167 | 14.8 |
| 2012 | 22 | #5,937 | 12.5 |
| 2011 | 16 | #7,498 | 9.1 |
| 2010 | 12 | #9,340 | 6.8 |
| 2009 | 22 | #6,147 | 12.0 |
| 2008 | 32 | #4,671 | 16.9 |
| 2007 | 34 | #4,394 | 17.7 |
| 2006 | 28 | #4,981 | 14.7 |
| 2005 | 31 | #4,391 | 16.8 |
| 2004 | 40 | #3,637 | 21.8 |
| 2003 | 33 | #4,044 | 18.1 |
| 2002 | 37 | #3,604 | 20.6 |
| 2001 | 29 | #4,227 | 16.1 |
| 2000 | 30 | #4,089 | 16.5 |
| 1999 | 35 | #3,514 | 19.7 |
| 1998 | 24 | #4,508 | 13.6 |
| 1997 | 33 | #3,456 | 19.0 |
| 1996 | 32 | #3,512 | 18.3 |
| 1995 | 30 | #3,593 | 17.1 |
| 1994 | 38 | #3,037 | 21.3 |
| 1993 | 28 | #3,783 | 15.5 |
| 1992 | 29 | #3,691 | 15.7 |
| 1991 | 23 | #4,352 | 12.3 |
| 1990 | 27 | #3,818 | 14.2 |
| 1989 | 14 | #5,879 | 7.6 |
| 1988 | 15 | #5,358 | 8.4 |
| 1987 | 30 | #3,110 | 17.3 |
| 1986 | 27 | #3,284 | 15.7 |
| 1985 | 19 | #4,149 | 11.0 |
| 1984 | 25 | #3,336 | 14.8 |
| 1983 | 22 | #3,568 | 13.2 |
| 1982 | 33 | #2,778 | 19.5 |
| 1981 | 29 | #2,999 | 17.4 |
| 1980 | 29 | #3,008 | 17.5 |
| 1979 | 28 | #3,008 | 17.4 |
| 1978 | 25 | #3,108 | 16.3 |
| 1977 | 12 | #5,248 | 7.8 |
| 1976 | 22 | #3,196 | 15.0 |
| 1975 | 26 | #2,819 | 17.8 |
| 1974 | 21 | #3,225 | 14.3 |
| 1973 | 22 | #3,032 | 15.1 |
| 1972 | 16 | #3,735 | 10.5 |
| 1971 | 17 | #3,662 | 10.2 |
| 1970 | 14 | #4,059 | 8.0 |
| 1969 | 13 | #3,968 | 7.7 |
| 1968 | 16 | #3,326 | 9.8 |
| 1967 | 9 | #4,664 | 5.5 |
| 1966 | 17 | #3,050 | 10.0 |
| 1965 | 8 | #4,875 | 4.5 |
| 1964 | 11 | #4,119 | 5.8 |
| 1963 | 7 | #5,357 | 3.6 |
| 1962 | 10 | #4,297 | 5.1 |
| 1961 | 9 | #4,573 | 4.5 |
| 1960 | 11 | #3,941 | 5.4 |
| 1959 | 10 | #4,056 | 4.9 |
| 1958 | 17 | #2,865 | 8.5 |
| 1956 | 14 | #3,199 | 7.0 |
| 1955 | 8 | #4,412 | 4.1 |
| 1954 | 14 | #3,037 | 7.2 |
| 1953 | 12 | #3,282 | 6.4 |
| 1952 | 17 | #2,587 | 9.2 |
| 1951 | 19 | #2,318 | 10.6 |
| 1950 | 20 | #2,193 | 11.7 |
| 1949 | 17 | #2,424 | 9.9 |
| 1948 | 17 | #2,421 | 10.0 |
| 1947 | 19 | #2,288 | 10.7 |
| 1946 | 19 | #2,165 | 12.1 |
| 1945 | 19 | #1,943 | 14.5 |
| 1944 | 23 | #1,747 | 17.3 |
| 1943 | 15 | #2,356 | 10.8 |
| 1942 | 21 | #1,868 | 15.5 |
| 1941 | 18 | #1,959 | 14.9 |
| 1940 | 12 | #2,440 | 10.5 |
| 1939 | 11 | #2,614 | 10.0 |
| 1938 | 12 | #2,467 | 10.9 |
| 1937 | 17 | #1,924 | 16.0 |
| 1936 | 17 | #1,882 | 16.3 |
| 1935 | 20 | #1,729 | 19.1 |
| 1934 | 27 | #1,415 | 25.9 |
| 1933 | 14 | #2,171 | 13.9 |
| 1932 | 24 | #1,569 | 22.5 |
| 1931 | 21 | #1,695 | 19.7 |
| 1930 | 39 | #1,197 | 34.6 |
| 1929 | 49 | #1,044 | 43.9 |
| 1928 | 32 | #1,368 | 27.7 |
| 1927 | 26 | #1,623 | 21.8 |
| 1926 | 28 | #1,547 | 23.6 |
| 1925 | 34 | #1,381 | 27.9 |
| 1924 | 35 | #1,385 | 28.0 |
| 1923 | 20 | #1,954 | 16.6 |
| 1922 | 30 | #1,510 | 25.0 |
| 1921 | 31 | #1,485 | 25.1 |
| 1920 | 35 | #1,314 | 29.2 |
| 1919 | 27 | #1,533 | 23.9 |
| 1918 | 18 | #2,044 | 15.5 |
| 1917 | 21 | #1,722 | 19.4 |
| 1916 | 13 | #2,389 | 12.4 |
| 1915 | 21 | #1,627 | 21.3 |
| 1914 | 15 | #1,751 | 19.7 |
| 1913 | 10 | #2,045 | 16.0 |
| 1912 | 11 | #1,735 | 19.7 |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,519 | 12.0 |
| 1910 | 5 | #2,462 | 12.6 |
| 1909 | 12 | #1,227 | 34.6 |
| 1908 | 5 | #2,159 | 15.0 |
| 1907 | 10 | #1,311 | 31.4 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,685 | 21.8 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,831 | 19.1 |
| 1902 | 9 | #1,232 | 34.1 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,591 | 23.4 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,436 | 25.2 |
| 1894 | 5 | #1,516 | 22.4 |
| 1893 | 7 | #1,192 | 32.9 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Candelaria a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Candelaria has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 125 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Candelaria: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Candelaria, and how old are they?
1,710 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 67% of the 2,558 Americans ever recorded as Candelaria. The median Candelaria alive today is 33 years old; half are between 20 and 52.
The 2020 Census counted 6,609 people named Candelaria (6,572 women and girls, 37 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,685 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3.9 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 98 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 189 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 275 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 409 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 453 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 283 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Candelaria born?
The states with the most babies named Candelaria are Texas, California and New Mexico, with 94% of its births recorded by state since 1910; New Mexico is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 742 | not ranked | 3.9× |
| California | 464 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| New Mexico | 79 | not ranked | 5.1× |
| Florida | 30 | #1,730 | 0.3× |
| Georgia | 21 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Arizona | 19 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Alabama | 6 | #736 | 0.1× |
Where Candelaria is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Candelaria is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 3.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Candelaria with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Candelaria
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Candelaria and names like it
- Compare Candelaria and CelestinaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sCandelaria peaked in 1929.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Candelaria since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Candelaria: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1929The year the most babies were named Candelaria.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Candelaria alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with CMost given first.