Comments for the name Candida

Candida is the name of a play (and a character in the play) by George Bernad Shaw. One of the members of the britpop band Pulp is also a Candida.

The only thing I think of when I hear "Candida" is that it's a name for a yeast infection.

Candida Albicans... Feel so sorry for all Candidas. Not really good name for a woman!

The word for "shiny white" in Latin is candidus (masculine) and candida (feminine). That is why the yeast got the name. Not from Candida the name but from candida the (absence of) colour.

Candidates for election in Rome used to wear the whitest clothing possible, to mirror their purity of heart, freedom from corruption, general worthiness etc - which is where the word 'candidate' also comes from.

The fact that it means "yeast infection" makes this name look disgusting. Without that, it's just an ugly name that can be shortened to the dumb nickname Candy.

As a doctor, I feel the need to inform any prospective parent considering use of this name that Candida is a common medical term, short for "Candida Albicans", aka "thrush", aka "yeast infection". Need I be more specific?

That this is a medical term for "yeast infection", that fact alone should discourage most prospective parents from giving this to their daughters. Can you imagine the teasing that the poor girl would get in high school?!

I agree with others that the fact that Candida means a type of yeast or fungus renders this name unusable, but I'd like to add my opinion that it's a darn shame. Because aside from that, Candida is a beautiful name.

Since this is the name used for yeast infections, you might as well call your little daughter "Yeasty".

"Hi, I'm Ellen Schaeffer and this is my daughter, Yeasty."

See what I mean?

About the "yeast infection" problem - I'm guessing that very few teenagers and absolutely no younger children would actually KNOW that Candida Albicans is the medical term for a yeast infection, so school teasing on that score wouldn't really be a problem. Actually, most adults probably don't know about the yeast thing either, so it wouldn't really be an issue unless she worked in the health care field. My problem with the name Candida is not the yeast issue, but the fact that the only real nickname for it is "Candi", which is the grandmother of all stripper names.

Candida is actually not very common as an English given name. However, it is fairly common as a Spanish given name, where it is written Cándida. [noted -ed]

Candida Höfer (b. 1944) is a German photographer.

The French unisex form, Candide, is borne by the male protagonist of the book "Candide" (1759) by Voltaire.

This name briefly entered the US Top 1000 in 1971 because of the popular song "Candida" by Tony Orlando and Dawn, which was released in July 1970.