What Spanish word means the female honoree celebrated at a quinceañera?

Quinceañera is the Spanish word for the female honoree celebrated at a quinceañera.

The term is derived from quince años, meaning “fifteen years,” and is used for a girl or young woman marking her fifteenth birthday. In common usage, the same word can also refer to the celebration itself, which is why context matters when translating it.

The word is feminine in Spanish grammar. Quinceañero is a related masculine term that may describe a male fifteenth-birthday honoree, while chambelán generally refers to a male member of the court. Madrina means godmother or female sponsor and is not the name of the celebrant.

English-language communities often use quinceañera as a borrowed cultural term without translating it. Spelling the ñ correctly distinguishes it from forms that omit the tilde. Although the tradition has regional variations, the word consistently points to the fifteenth-birthday milestone at its center.