Quinceañera is the Spanish word traditionally identifying the girl celebrating her fifteenth birthday.
In everyday English, quinceañera also commonly names the entire celebration. The word is formed from quince, meaning fifteen, with a feminine ending related to the person associated with that age. A boy celebrating a comparable fifteenth birthday may be called a quinceañero, although practices and terminology vary by community.
The word is sometimes used narrowly for the celebrant and sometimes broadly for the party, ceremony, or tradition. Context usually makes the meaning clear. For example, “the quinceañera entered the ballroom” refers to the girl, while “the quinceañera included a Mass” refers to the event.
A dama is a female attendant, and a chambelán is traditionally a male attendant; neither term names the birthday girl. A madrina is a female sponsor or godmother in some celebrations. These roles can differ by region and family, but they remain distinct from the quinceañera herself.