Cándido - A Spanish name??

Question

This phrase is the first sentence in a book of mine. I have read beyond this sentence but having only two pages of this book, I am unsure of my assumption that the word Candido is a person's name - but is also a word meaning 'ingenious'. Is Candido a common name en espanol?

"Cándido deja los periódicos sobre la cama. Se sienta en una silla y bebe rápido su cafe."

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

I think that I have read this story. (I remember the part about the newpapers being on the bed.) This is a mystery story. I won't ruin the ending for you, but I will tell you that it has a plot twist at the very end so you have to read the entire story. Why it comes to mind is I did exactly what you did. I thought cándido was an adjective when, in fact, it is the man's name. And it took me a page or two to figure that out.

A friend of mine gave me a copy of the story. I scanned the page images and translated the story. I made a movie to post on her web page. Too bad that I deleted it all or I could have sent you a movie showing you all of the pages so that you could read it while listening to audio of the Spanish and an audio translation into English.

If you need the entire story, contact me by private mail and I can ask my friend if she still has her copy of it.

Perfect response! This was exactly what I was referring to and I appreciate your helpful response! Perhaps I will bother you for the english translation some day soon! - wallpaper, Nov 27, 2009

Answer 2

I did a Google search and there is a famous union leader in Spain with the first name Cándido. There is also a percussionist with the same first name. I would guess that it is not a common name, but definitely exists!

Answer 3

I can tell you for a fact that Candido is a real name. My name is Candido Bousquet. Haha. Nice to meet you all. I hope that by having met someone with Candido as a first name you all now see and believe that yes, it is a real name.

Answer 4

a word meaning 'ingenious'.

The meaning of the word is "ingenuous" rather than "ingenious". If the word "ingenuous" is unfamiliar to you. you may substitute "naif" (or "naive" for females)/"innocent"/"greenhorn"/"babe in the woods".

The word "ingenue" is still used in reference to theater/movie productions with the basic meaning of "inexperienced"/"newcomer" (which is closely related to the historical meaning of "ingenuous").

Answer 5

Quentin, you are thinking of the book Soñar un crimen by Rosana Acquaroni Muñoz. We never did El misterio de la llave. I just send you the first pages as a teaser of that book. Candido is the archeologist in El misterio de la llave.

¡Feliz cumpleaños! - Malenor, Nov 27, 2009

Answer 6

The name of the story is El misterio de la llave by Elena Moreno. It is always a pleasure to read your answers Samdie. Your troublesome grammar student

Answer 7

I take care of the payroll for around 90 Hispanic employees and I have never seen the name Cándido. We have a high turnover rate on employees so I have seen a lot of Hispanic names come and go.

The most unusual first name so far was Habacuc, but that´s another story.

I didn't say it wasn't a name, it obviously plays the role of someone's name in the context of the sentence. - Malenor, Nov 27, 2009

Answer 8

As a name, it was made famous by Voltaire (the French version being Candide) because he wrote a short novel with that as the title (and the main character's name). It is, of course, derived from a Latin word so there are similar words/names (with similar meanings) in Spanish and English (and probably Italian and Portuguese).

Answer 9

Thanks for the input all, I will proceed under the assumption that Candido is a name!