The girl whose fifteenth-birthday celebration is a quinceañera is called the quinceañera.
The Spanish word combines quince, meaning “fifteen,” with a feminine ending. It can refer both to the celebrant and, by extension, to the celebration itself. The term is especially associated with coming-of-age celebrations in Mexico, much of Latin America, and Latino communities elsewhere.
Quinceañera should not be confused with quinceañero, the masculine form used for a boy’s fifteenth-birthday celebration. Other people involved have different titles, including padrinos for sponsors and damas for female court members.
Although customs vary by country and family, the quinceañera is normally the central figure in the ceremony, reception, formal clothing, photographs, and symbolic rituals.