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 [ 2 syll. car-men, ca-rm-en ] The girl name Carmen is also used as a boy name, though it is far more popular for girls. It is pronounced KAARMahN KEY. Carmen has its origins in the Hebrew language. It is used largely in English, Romanian, and Spanish. Biblical name literally from the words karmel which means 'fruit garden, fruitful land' ; carmen which means 'song'. The name is derived from the Spanish title, Virgin Mary Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which is from the place name of Mount Carmel in Israel. The '-l' in place name became '-n' in the first name, under influence from the Latin carmen ('song'), with which the name is often associated via folk etymology. In the 19th century, Georges Bizet's tragic romantic heroine in the highly popular French opera Carmen (1873-4), based on Prosper Mérimée's story Carmen (1845), contributed to the name's widespread use among English speakers. The Broadway musical Carmen Jones (1943), an update of Bizet's opera in an African-American setting, also fueled the name's popularity in the 20th century. Carmen is the feminine form of the Italian Carmine. Carmen has 26 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Carmaine, Carmene, Carmia, Carmina (also used in Italian and Spanish), Carmine (also used in Italian), Carmita, Charmaine, Karma (also used in Indian), Karmia, Karmina, Karmine, Karmita, and Mina (also used in Scottish, Spanish, Indian, German, and Polish). Other English forms include the pet forms Carma (also used in Hebrew) and Carmi, and the spelling variants Carman, Carmin, Carmon, Carmynn, Karman, Karmen (also used in Spanish), Karmin, and Karmyn. The Spanish Carmena is a form of Carmen that is used in foreign languages. The pet forms Carmencita (Spanish) and Menchu (Spanish) are other foreign variants. See also the related forms, the English and Hebrew Carmel, the Spanish Maria Carmen, and the Spanish María del Carmen. Carmen is an all-time favorite. At present it is still popular as a baby girl name, but not to the degree it was in the past. The name increased in popularity from the 1900s up to the 1960s; prior to that, it was of only modest use. Its usage peaked in 1968 with 0.133% of baby girls being named Carmen. It had a ranking of #142 then. The baby name has experienced a drop in frequency since then. In 2008, it ranked at #262 with a usage of 0.063%, but it was nevertheless the most popular among all girl names in its family. Carmen was 4 times more commonly used than the 2nd most popular name, the English and Indian Karma, in 2008. Carmen has mainly been a girl name in the last century. There were 14 times more girls than boys who were named Carmen in 1981. Baby names that sound like Carmen include the English Carman, the English Carmin, the English and Italian Carmine, the English Carmon, the English Karman, the English and Spanish Karmen, the English Karmin, the English Karmine, the English Careen, the English and German Caren, the English, Dutch, and German Carin, the English Cariyn, the English and Hebrew Carma, the English Carmaine, the English Carmelle, the English Carmene, the English Carmi, the English Carmie, the English Carmy, and the Hebrew Carna. Details of famous persons named Carmen: KEY: Pronunciation for Carmen: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; M as in "me (M.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"   |
