Candice

Candice is a variant spelling of Candace, a name which appears in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. In Acts 8:26-27, the Bible says: “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure.” The English got the name from the Greek Κανδακη (Kandake) which was ultimately derived from a very ancient Kushite word “kdke” meaning “queen mother”. It was a hereditary title among the queens of the African Kingdom of Kush, such as the legendary 4th century B.C. Candace of Meroë, who some historians believe was the only person to defeat Alexander the Great from pressing his empire south of Egypt into territories where she reigned. It was the Puritans who resurrected this obscure Biblical title after the Protestant Reformation, but it was really a mid-20th century Hollywood film “Meet the Stewarts” (1942) that brought the name Candace to the masses. A lighthearted comedy, the movie stars William Holden as Mike Stewart, a working stiff who marries the pretty, wealthy socialite Candace “Candy” Goodwin (played by Frances Dee), and follows their struggles as she tries to live on his meager salary. American audiences responded to the name Candace in droves, and Candice soon followed as an alternate spelling. Right now Candice is most popular in France and South Africa.