Candelaria

Family name origins & meanings

• Spanish and Portuguese : from the Marian epithet (Maria de la) Candelaria, referring to the Catholic feast of the Purification of the Virgin. The name derives from Latin candela ‘candle’, since on this day candles were blessed by a priest and then lit to invoke the protection of the Virgin Mary.
• Spanish and Portuguese : habitational name from a place in Tenerife called Canelaria.