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ArchivesEscamillo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Escamillo is the name of the matador in the opera "Carmen". What does it mean and how is it pronounced? Is Escamillo a common name in Spain?
Thanks
Ailís
"The Irish spirit can't be enshackled in the English language. That's why we swear so much".
Usage: Spanish
Escamillo is the name of the matador in the opera "Carmen". What does it mean and how is it pronounced? Is Escamillo a common name in Spain?
Thanks
Ailís
"The Irish spirit can't be enshackled in the English language. That's why we swear so much".
1
Replies
Escamillo is not a name, but a nickname, very likely from the character's original surname. It seems probable that the original surname was Escamilla, because this is the main form, but the variant Escamillo is not completely unknown.
It is very usual that toreros (bullfighters), cantaores (flamenco singers) and bailaores (flamenco dancers) are known not by their given names, but by stage-names. In some cases, those can come from a pet form of their given names (Paquirri, Manolete, Juli...), but they are not used as formal given names mainly because everybody recognize it as stage-name of a specific torero/cantaor/bailaor.
However, it is more common that the stage-name comes from their birth town (Cordobés, Lebrijano, Espartaco...), from nicknames (Finito de Córdoba, Platanito, Lagartijo, Farruquito...) or from variations of their family name (Dominguín, Varguitas...).
The surname Escamilla (from which the variant Escamillo, Carmen character's name) comes from the place name Escamilla, name of two towns, one in Guadalajara and another one in Ávila.
Escamillo is pronounced [eska'miʎo] (the LL has its own sound, inexistant in English, but it is very often pronounced the same that Y, so it would be more or less ehs-kah-MEE-yoh [eska'mijo]).
Not only it is not a common name in Spain (or in any of the other Spanish speaking countries), but it is not used at all as given name at least in Spain, among other reasons because there are naming law forbidding the inscription of surnames as given names.
It is very usual that toreros (bullfighters), cantaores (flamenco singers) and bailaores (flamenco dancers) are known not by their given names, but by stage-names. In some cases, those can come from a pet form of their given names (Paquirri, Manolete, Juli...), but they are not used as formal given names mainly because everybody recognize it as stage-name of a specific torero/cantaor/bailaor.
However, it is more common that the stage-name comes from their birth town (Cordobés, Lebrijano, Espartaco...), from nicknames (Finito de Córdoba, Platanito, Lagartijo, Farruquito...) or from variations of their family name (Dominguín, Varguitas...).
The surname Escamilla (from which the variant Escamillo, Carmen character's name) comes from the place name Escamilla, name of two towns, one in Guadalajara and another one in Ávila.
Escamillo is pronounced [eska'miʎo] (the LL has its own sound, inexistant in English, but it is very often pronounced the same that Y, so it would be more or less ehs-kah-MEE-yoh [eska'mijo]).
Not only it is not a common name in Spain (or in any of the other Spanish speaking countries), but it is not used at all as given name at least in Spain, among other reasons because there are naming law forbidding the inscription of surnames as given names.
1