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My name is Carmen and I hate it! My background is Maltese and I was named after my Grandma. There are at least two Carmen's in my family and it's stupid I had to be named this horrible name. I don't mean to be rude and most Carmens I've met are very nice people, but I'm always getting made fun of, I have literally over 20 nicknames and no one takes my name seriously. I get real depressed because of it and it's always embarrassing introducing myself with this name only to be picked on. I really want to change my name but I doubt my parents and family will let me. I wouldn't mind about the name so much if people actually liked me but unfortunately that's not the case for me. If your name is not Carmen you should definitely appreciate and feel pride in your great name!
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Also Portuguese: https://www.behindthename.com/name/carmen/top/brazil
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Mature sounding with a beautiful meaning.
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At least among Italian-Americans (unsure about how the name is used in Italy itself), Carmen and Carmine are sometimes pronounced the same, so Carmen has been given to boys as well (though it's still more commonly a feminine name).
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Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto (played by Jeremy Allen White) is the main character on the TV show "The Bear" (2022-).
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I like it, it sounds sexy.
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Carmen is one of those sweet spot names where the feel of it changes as the person gets older. On an adolescent it feels spunky and youthful, but on an adult it feels more graceful and refined.
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This is a name taken directly from the Latin word carmen, translated "poem, tale", mostly used for women. This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera Carmen (1875).
* Some Spanish variants of this name would be Carmen (female full form), Menchu (short form), Carmenchu, Carmencita, Carmenza, Carmina and Carmita (diminutives)... In addition to other names, it's short forms vary, like Mamen, Mayka, Marica and Maruca (short forms of María del Carmen). Often is preferred the usage of Maruca instead of Marica, since the last one has been misused for so long with a pejorative meaning ("coward, fag, sissy") usually applied to men.
It doesn't mean "song". This confusion seems to refer to the chanson de geste (Old French for "song of heroic deeds"), a medieval narrative in the form of an epic poem. Some examples would be Beowulf (Middle English), Carmina Burana (Latin), Chanson de Roland (French), El Cantar de Mío Cid (Spanish), iškar Gilgāmeš (Akkadian),...
Please, don't confuse it neither with the (almost) homophone name Carmelo, Spanish male form taken directly from the Hebrew word כרמל (Karmel, translated as "garden, orchard").
* Some Spanish variants of this name would be Carmelo (male full form) or Melo (male short form), Carmelito (male diminutive) or Melito (its short form), Carmela (female full form) or Mela (its short form), Carmelita (female diminutive) or Melita (its short form).
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* Some Spanish variants of this name would be Carmen (female full form), Menchu (short form), Carmenchu, Carmencita, Carmenza, Carmina and Carmita (diminutives)... In addition to other names, it's short forms vary, like Mamen, Mayka, Marica and Maruca (short forms of María del Carmen). Often is preferred the usage of Maruca instead of Marica, since the last one has been misused for so long with a pejorative meaning ("coward, fag, sissy") usually applied to men.
It doesn't mean "song". This confusion seems to refer to the chanson de geste (Old French for "song of heroic deeds"), a medieval narrative in the form of an epic poem. Some examples would be Beowulf (Middle English), Carmina Burana (Latin), Chanson de Roland (French), El Cantar de Mío Cid (Spanish), iškar Gilgāmeš (Akkadian),...
Please, don't confuse it neither with the (almost) homophone name Carmelo, Spanish male form taken directly from the Hebrew word כרמל (Karmel, translated as "garden, orchard").
* Some Spanish variants of this name would be Carmelo (male full form) or Melo (male short form), Carmelito (male diminutive) or Melito (its short form), Carmela (female full form) or Mela (its short form), Carmelita (female diminutive) or Melita (its short form).
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It is also taken directly from the Latin word "Carmen" meaning "song".
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Strong and mature. Makes me think of a beautiful successful confident woman.
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Carmen is a pretty name.
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Also Dutch: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Carmen
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"Hi. My name is Carmen Winstead."
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I love it, it sounds badass and sexy.
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Carmen was also traditionally used as a boys' name.
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Also French: https://meilleursprenoms.com/popularite-prenom/Carmen
Also German: https://forebears.io/forenames/carmen [noted -ed]
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Also German: https://forebears.io/forenames/carmen [noted -ed]
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LOVE this name! I think Carmen Lynn would be a cute name.
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I've personally always loved this name. It's bold & unique. I think of a total bad***. I also think it's quite sultry & sexy on a woman, so it will age well. Minnie is a sweet nickname option (I pronounce it Car-Min, not Men) & Carma is a great nickname option too.
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I find this name a bit bland. Not terrible, though.
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Carmen Vasquez is a character in the animated series Totally Spies!. She is Alex's mother.
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Really pretty name that I could picture on any girl. Carmen is nice.
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Multiple sources define the given name Carmen as (possibly?) gender-neutral.
Sources: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_(given_name)
https://forebears.io/forenames/carmen
https://www.names.org/n/carmen/about
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_naming_customs (I think)
https://babynames.com/name/Carmen
https://www.behindthename.com/name/carmen/top/united-states
http://www.nancy.cc/baby-name/carmen/
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Sources: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_(given_name)
https://forebears.io/forenames/carmen
https://www.names.org/n/carmen/about
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_naming_customs (I think)
https://babynames.com/name/Carmen
https://www.behindthename.com/name/carmen/top/united-states
http://www.nancy.cc/baby-name/carmen/
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Carmen is my middle name, and I love it. Sometimes I even wish it was my first, but I do like my first name a lot. Overall, Carmen is a great name and isn’t that common from what I have seen.
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With 566 151 bearers, Carmen is the 4th most common feminine given name in Venezuela (2014 Data). With 456 327 bearers, Carmen is the 9th most common feminine given name in Spain (2014 Data). With 267 488 bearers, Carmen is the 9th most common feminine given name in Peru (2014 Data). With 122 870 bearers, Carmen is the 2nd most common feminine given name in Puerto Rico (2014 Data). With 526 bearers, Carmen is the 9th most common feminine given name in Aruba (2014 Data).
Source: https://forebears.io/forenames/carmen
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Source: https://forebears.io/forenames/carmen
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I love this name; just don't understand how it's considered "unisex".
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Also Provençal: https://ieo-oc.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=300 --- Source: Institut d'Estudis Occitans
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I love it. It sounds gentle and pretty.
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Carmen Russo (Carmela Carolina Fernanda Russo, born 3 1959) is an Italian dancer, actress, television personality, and singer.
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Eh not the greatest. Makes me think of the Carmen soap.
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Sultry and sexy.
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This is my name, I'm Russian, people always give me weird looks and make fun of me for this name because it's not common at all for Russians to have this name :(((((((( and you get bullied with the nicknames as "car man" "car MEN" "car" it makes me feel sad.
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Gosh so much negativity about this gorgeous name! Also;
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?
(It's a great show on Netflix. Go watch it now.)
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WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?
(It's a great show on Netflix. Go watch it now.)
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Also used in Slovene: https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_(ime)
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I love love love this name no much, it sounds so pretty. I would skin a baby alive just to have it.
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Also occasionally used in Estonia: https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_(eesnimi)
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María del Carmen Machi Arroyo, professionally known as Carmen Machi is a Spanish actress. She's mostly known for her role as Aída García in '7 vidas' and 'Aída'.
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In the USA, this name can also SOMETIMES be MASCULINE, making it UNISEX.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/carmen/top/united-states
http://www.nancy.cc/baby-name/carmen/
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https://www.behindthename.com/name/carmen/top/united-states
http://www.nancy.cc/baby-name/carmen/
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I love it, it feels warm. For me it's yellow/orange.
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Carmen WAS my name and I hated it, enough to change it when I grew older. It always sounded strange to me, never felt like a reflection of who I was. Also, it does lead to horrid nicknames and teasing through childhood. Happy to have tossed it.
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It's a beautiful name.
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I actually kinda like this name. I think it could work for a boy and a girl.
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Like the name, though it sounds like a guy name.
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Carmen Sandiego is the protagonist of the game "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?".
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Carmen Dragon (whom I have already named) was the father of Daryl Dragon, better known as the Captain of "The Captain and Tennille."
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Carmen Cavallaro (a man), American pianist (1913–1989).
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I named a character in my book Carmen. She's very strong, smart, determined, yet also emotionally struggling.
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Carmen is a character in the PBS Kids show "Let's Go, Luna".
Carmen is also the name of a character in the Cartoon Network show "The Amazing World of Gumball".
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Carmen is also the name of a character in the Cartoon Network show "The Amazing World of Gumball".
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Probably will be mistaken for Camren/Cameron.
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The three previous comments were negative and have no actual bearing nor diminishment on this charmingly eclectic name. I am very happy to say that I find this name as having a lovely meaning and significant elegance. It is not very common and will offer a welcoming contrast to the more common ones in this current day and age.
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This name is bad and it sounds bad too.
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I feel like Carmine is the feminine form and Carmen is the masculine form because feminine names tend to have that -ine prefix. In other words Carmen feels like a boy's name and Carmine feels like a girl's name, but that’s just me. I think both names can go either way!
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In English speaking countries, this name is likely more common than the original Carmel. (actually, I never even knew Carmel was a name...)
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I love the name Carmen. I think it’s magical. I love it from Spy Kids Carmen, the older sister. I am thinking of naming my daughter Carmen.
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It's very pretty. I have never met a Carmen, only a Carmella. She was a young girl. I also like Carmella though.
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Carmen Luz Barbieri Caputo is an Argentine actress, supervedette, dancer, stand-up comedian, director and producer of theater. Barbieri was the first winner of ShowMatch's Bailando 2006 paired with professional dancer, Christian Ponce.
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My name is Carmen and I think it is a beautiful name. I live in the U.S. and in one of the most hillbilly states located here and so it is quite surprising that my parents named me that. It's always been lovely to have, what I consider, a very charming and sophisticated name.
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Name of the father of Kitty Pryde (alias Shadowcat), a character from the X-Men universe. Her father is named Carmen Pryde. I hate this name on male characters...
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Went to school with a Carmen and she got called "comin'","car face", "car man" and "car MEN". Personally I don't like the sound and look of it, but I remember her as a nice and funny girl and nobody is defined by their name.
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I had a baby gal in August and I named her Carmen. I got it from a soap opera and I really loved it. I am in Uganda Africa and it's really not common. Have never heard of it here at any one time. Some people are even wondering how I came to name my gal that name. Just love saying it.
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My name is Carmen and I am from Puerto Rico, where it's a very common name. There are 5 Carmen's in my family, that includes both my grandmothers. When I was growing up, kids would torture me with the chorus of a very old song that goes... "Carmen, Carmen, Carmen te quiero y tu lo sabes (I love you and you know it)... It was real torture but I'm over it now and I love my name!
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My name is Carmen, I have always liked being called Carmen. I am British, born in the 60's. My sister was born four years after me and is called Miranda. My mother had a wonderful sense of humour, she also admired Carmen Miranda the singer. I like to think my name makes me a bit different, I have always been very independent, unique and capable. Naming your child can have an effect on how they see themselves I feel.
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I love it on a girl. The 'men' is pronounced like "min". You could call her Carey or Minnie for short. For a boy I like Carmine.
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Carmen Miranda, GCIH • OMC was a Luso-Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress, and film star who was popular from the 1930s to the 1950s. Miranda became a popular radio and film star in Brazil in the late 1920s.
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This is my name and I absolutely LOVE it. I live in the US where it is fairly uncommon, especially if you're not hispanic (I'm not). Everyone always remembers my name, and I feel very professional introducing myself. I've never really had any negative experience with it. It's feminine but strong, some people recall the opera, some Carmen San Diego. I'm really quite grateful for my name!
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Carmen Sylva was the pen name of Elisabeth of Wied, Queen Consort of Romania.
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Carmen is such a beautiful, lovely, underused name.
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This name just shouts: LET'S GO BUY SOME CARAMEL!
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Carmen Dell'Orefice (Born: June 3, 1931) is an American model and actress.
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I don't like it. It has too many cars and men for my liking.
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Carmen can be used for males as well. My daughter's father's name is Angelo Carmen (VERY Italian).
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Chinese words for Carmen is (ka-men). English meaning is garden orchard!
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I think Carmen is a very beautiful name. It's also an exotic name that has a lot of possibilities. I think of a gorgeous, intelligent, strong woman with this name. I do not find this name trashy in the least. Although it is a unisex name, I perceive it to be feminine. Carmen is not common in the U.S., but I believe it deserves more recognition!
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In Italy Carmen is a name that is no longer in use. All the Carmens that I knew now are grandmothers!
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My name is Carmyn spelled with a Y instead of an E. I don't see that a lot. When I was little I didn't like my name but I cannot recall any particular reason why I didn't like it. Now I love my name. And I absolutely love that it's spelled with a Y. My birth certificate shows my name with an E but it's a Y on my social security card... my parents said it was supposed to be with a Y. I go with the Y spelling now, although I used to write it with an E. One thing I noticed is that people, while never mispronouncing Carmen, mispronounce Carmyn all the time. I get Camryn a lot. They say that for some reason the Y throws them off. It does not bother me at all when people call me Camryn and nine times out of ten I don't bother to correct them. Although most of the time this is because I've already tried to correct them and they continue calling me Camryn. A lot of the times I won't bother to correct people in the first place simply because I don't care. And they really seem to genuinely struggle to say it the right way, which amuses me. So I think Carmyn is a lovely name and I'm glad to have it but in my experience spelling it with a Y causes pronunciation issues. I'm just not the type of person who cares if my name isn't said right all the time and honestly I get it. Carmyn... it looks a whole lot like Camryn.
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Also used in Portuguese. The traditional spelling is Carmem, but plenty of people use Carmen as well.
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Mount Carmel is mentioned in the Bible. Maybe derived from that.
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I think this name is very pretty and it ages well. It reminds me of caramel which reminds me of something sweet so it's not a bad association for me. I love the song Carmen by Lana Del Rey on her ‘Born to Die’ album which just makes me like the name even more. But, I can only imagine this name on a Latin woman or a woman who has golden skin.
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"Carmen" is also the name of a song in Lana del Rey's album "Born to Die", written by her and Justin Parker.
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Carmen Carrera, a drag queen that starred in the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
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Great name!
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In "Spy Kids" Alexa Vega's character Carmen's full name is: Carmen Elizabeth Juanita Costa Brava Cortez. It's so fun to say haha.
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Carmen Dragon (a man) was an American conductor.
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I used to hate this name, but after learning of its meaning ('a songstress' is just gorgeous), I don't hate it so much anymore.
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I love this name, always have and when I found out it meant 'song' or 'a beautiful song' I loved it even more as I am a singer myself. :P
All my life I have been Carmensita, even though I'm not Spanish, I'm from Australia. I don't think my parents could have chosen a better name for me, suits me to a T hehe.
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All my life I have been Carmensita, even though I'm not Spanish, I'm from Australia. I don't think my parents could have chosen a better name for me, suits me to a T hehe.
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Also Italian. [noted -ed]
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I remember finding this name masculine when I was younger and the movie 'Spy Kids' came out. I was confused because the daughter was named Carmen and the son was named Juni and I thought their names should have been switched. Now I find it feminine.
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A trendy name, but with actual history. Feminine but not frilly.
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I've heard this on a guy too. Too bad always makes me think of Carmen Sandiego though.
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I know it's a Spanish name, but I still don't like the word men in it.
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I love this name. It's very sexy. It makes me think of Carmen Electra, or Carmen Lopez (Masiela Lusha).
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Carmen Lopez is a character in the show George Lopez, portrayed by Masiela Lusha.
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A nickname can also be "Carrie."
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Carmen Sandiago, the bad guy in the computer game Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago.
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Such a pretty sounding name, in my opinion.
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I can't quite get over the memory of a trashy Finnish beauty pageant contestant with this name who became famous for no particular reason. She was also quite a cold person, and later on she wound up working for a trashy magazine. That's why this name just still doesn't sound nice to me, but someone might change my views, who knows.
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A famous bearer is actress Carmen Zapata (born July 15, 1927). She has appeared in a variety of films and television series, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for live theater.
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This is the name of the title character in the stage musical "Carmen Jones". It was an updating of the Bizet opera "Carmen", with an African-American theme. It was first produced on Broadway in 1943. In the 1954 film adaptation, the main character was portrayed by Dorothy Dandridge. Dandridge was the first African-American actress nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, though she didn't win.
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A famous bearer is Carmen Morejón, singer of the band United Flavour.
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Slovene form is Karmen.
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In Spain Carmen is the commonest female name of all. Any Spaniard knows at least 10 Carmens, and more than one in their family. It is not that it is an ugly name but so overused that it sounds like an empty word.
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Carmen's not actually a bad name for a guy. My mom knows a guy named Carmen, I don't know whether it's Carmen or Carmine though.
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This name reminds me of someone who'd be sophisticated and snooty.
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To me, Carmen is a strong, dramatic name, almost flamenco dancer-esque.
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The meaning and the sound is pretty.
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My name is Carmen, and in Spain it is very very common. I'm 38 but when I was a child I didn't like it, afterwards I liked it a lot but I don't like it much because here it is too common but when I am abroad it sounds very nice.
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Carmen is a Christian singer/songwriter that was popular in the 90's, though I'm not sure if he's still in the music business.
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My name is Carmen. When I was little, I hated the name bcause it wasn't "pretty", and have always wanted to change it. But now, I love it. It's unique and not a lot of people have it. My English teacher said my name reminded her of some opera. XD
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My mum's name is Carmen and I thought it was quite unusual but I like it better then Carmel.
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I love this name! Partly because of the opera and how much I love her character. More recently I have found other reasons to like this name even more. To me, Carmen seems like a girl with a very daring and sprightly personality. I also like Carmen because of it being derived from the word for song. That is lovely.
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This name has really grown on me. It is very pretty and not heard of much. I know an 11 year old girl with this name and a 5 year old girl with this name. The 5 year old spells it Karmen though.
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I think Carmen is a beautiful name. My elder sister is called Carmen and I'm a little jealous, being stuck with a common name like Lauren an' all. :P
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I've always loved Carmen, but why would someone name their son this?
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It's an okay name, but where I live, in Romania, it's overly used. I know at least 10 Carmens!
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It can also mean "charm, incantation."
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The 'man' and 'car' ruins it.
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It is 'men' actually. It has class, it is uncommon and is pretty none the less.
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Very beautiful name. Uncommon, which is always a great thing to look for in a name.
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Famous bearer is Carmen Electra, though her real name is Tara Patrick.
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Carmen was the main character in Bizet's opera of the same title.
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I think this is a beautiful name. If I ever have a daughter I'm going to name her it.
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Carmen Miranda was the stage name of the late Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, a Brazilian singer/actress. Many people may also be familiar with the fictional criminal Carmen Sandiego.
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This is my mother's name, and I think it's very beautiful.
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The model Carmen Kass is a famous bearer of this name.
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This is the name of one of the main (and my favorite) characters in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
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Comments are left by users of this website. They are not checked for accuracy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Sandiego
[edit: this was previously mentioned twice, though the first comment misspelled her last name]