The baby name Candor might appeal to parents seeking a fresh, new virtue name.
Thanks to S for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME CANDOR MEAN?
Sometimes the toughest questions around name choice involve meaning. Is Mallory destined for badness? How to think about Caleb likely coming from the Hebrew word for dog?
Word names sidestep this challenge.
Candor’s meaning comes directly from the dictionary: open-minded, impartial, frank.
It’s almost from a Latin word that originally meant purity or even radiance from candere, a verb meaning “to shine.”
There’s a straightforwardness to the baby name Candor, and plenty of history, too.
MODERN VIRTUE NAMES
Our pool of possible virtue names is deeper than ever in the 21st century.
A first name like Chosen might be expressly religious or a broader kind of purpose name. Rarities like Clarity are attracting more attention than ever before.
As a first or middle name, such choices offer expectant parents confidence in a name’s meaning.
And while plenty of modern virtue names work across gender lines, other feel more fixed. Candor, so similar to Cameron and Connor and Carter, tends to read boy.
Also appealing: Candor is a positive virtue that feels a little more flexible than, say, Patience or Bravery.
DIVERGENT
For the generation that came of age in the 2010s, there’s a second meaning for this name.
Veronica Roth imagined a dystopia world for The Divergent Series. The first book was released in 2011; the first movie followed in 2014.
It’s a rich and multi-faceted world, but here’s the basic premise: society is divided into factions, based on each individual’s aptitudes and values. It’s a binding choice, made by teenagers. They divide into five groups:
- The Dauntless, who become soldiers and police
- Peaceful Amity, the farmers and nurturers
- Engineers, scientists, doctors, and teachers belong to the Erudite
- The Abnegation run the government
- And then there’s the Candor, who are in charge of the law
The author created the first four factions, then realized Candor had to be added to fill a gap.
So while this isn’t the kind of word we use in everyday conversation, it may strike a familiar note.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME CANDOR?
Then again, as a baby’s name, Candor is nearly unused.
In 2019, it was given to five boys.
That is the only time Candor has even registered in the extended list issued by the US Social Security Administration. For privacy reasons, a name must be given to at least five boys or five girls in a calendar year before it is included on the publicly-released list.
MEANING-RICH RARITY
All of this make Candor a virtue name that is all too rate. That might just make it the perfect baby name for parents focused on blending meaning and style.
After all, it sounds like so many surname-style choices ending with R. Think of Prosper and Baylor, but also Connor, Victor, Hector, and Trevor. It fits with bold word names like Maverick and Major, too.
If meaning matters most, and finding a truly unusual name is a top priority, Candor might belong on your short list.
What do you think of the baby name Candor?
