Casilda

Spanish, meaning uncertain

Casilda Origin and Meaning

The name Casilda is a girl's name .

An obscure medieval saint’s name which nevertheless sounds pretty on-trend right now: a softer alternative to Matilda, perhaps. If you're searching for Spanish names for girls, this can make an unusual but usable choice.

St Casilda of Toledo was a Moorish princess who later converted to Christianity. Her name may be of Germanic origin (partly derived from the element hild "battle"), or it may be an hispanization of an Arabic name such as Qasida ("ode; messenger").

The name Casilda features in the novel Don Quixote and in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Gondoliers.

Famous People Named Casilda

• Casilda Igarzábal (1774 1844), wife of Argentine revolutionary patriot Nicolás Rodríguez Peña (one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which started the Argentine War of Independence)
• Casilda Iturrizar Basque philanthropist
• Cacilda Becker (1921 1969), Brazilian actress
• Cacilda Borges Barbosa (1914 2010), Brazilian pianist, conductor and composer, who was one of the pioneers of electronic music in Brazil

Casilda in Pop Culture

• Cassilda character in "The King in Yellow" (1895), a book of short stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers; referenced in HBO show "True Detective"
• Casilda character in the opéra comique "La part du diable" (1843)
• International variations: Cacilda Casilde