Carmela - Spanish Name

Spanish Name

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.