Quince años is the Spanish phrase commonly used for a quinceañera’s fifteenth birthday.
The phrase literally means “fifteen years.” It is also used as a name for the celebration in several Spanish-speaking communities, especially where the event is described by the age being marked rather than by the feminine noun quinceañera.
Quinceañera itself can mean the girl reaching 15 or the celebration associated with her birthday. These overlapping terms explain why English-language descriptions may use “quinceañera,” “quince años,” or “fifteenth-birthday celebration” for closely related events.
Vocabulary is not perfectly uniform across Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, and diaspora communities. Local usage may favor one expression, and families may combine Spanish and English terms. The shared reference is the transition associated with the fifteenth birthday.