boy's name
Cade
KAYD
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 37,290
the United States
#248
2025 births
Cade is a boy's name of English origin taken from a medieval surname. Its root is the Middle English cade, which carried two senses — a barrel, and a lamb raised by hand after losing its mother — and reference sources differ on which produced the name.
- Cade is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2001, when 1,817 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,371 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1953.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Cade over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 |
| 1960s | 35 |
| 1970s | 491 |
| 1980s | 863 |
| 1990s | 4,589 |
| 2000s | 13,722 |
| 2010s | 8,350 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,863 |
What Cade means
Cade comes from a Middle English word meaning a cask or barrel, used as a nickname for someone round or stout. The same word named a hand-reared lamb, which gives a gentler second reading, and both are offered by serious sources.
Where Cade comes from
Cade descends from the Middle English cade, a barrel or cask, used as a byname for a person of that shape — medieval nicknames were rarely flattering and frequently physical. The identical word also meant a lamb abandoned by its ewe and raised by hand, a sense that survived in English farming dialect into the twentieth century, and some authorities take this as the source instead. Jack Cade led a major rebellion against Henry VI in 1450, which kept the name in English memory, and the surname passed into American use where it became a given name in the twentieth century.
Cade in use
Cade peaked in 2001 and has been broadly stable since, unusual among short surname-names, which typically rise and fall sharply.
How popular is Cade?
In 2025, Cade was given to 1,398 babies in the United States, ranking #248 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Cade is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Cade
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Cade also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Cade over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Cade
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Cade in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Cade
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Cade — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Cade
What does the name Cade mean?
It comes from a Middle English word meaning a barrel, used as a nickname, or a hand-raised lamb. Sources differ on which sense produced the name.
Is Cade a boy's or a girl's name?
It is given almost entirely to boys.
What is the difference between Cade and Kade?
Only the spelling. Cade is the traditional surname form and Kade is a modern respelling.
How popular is the name Cade?
In 2025, Cade was given to 1,398 babies in the United States, ranking #248 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Cade?
Cade has 1 syllable.
When was Cade most popular?
Cade peaked in 2001, when 1,817 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Cade?
Cade is usually shortened to Cadey.
Is Cade a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Cade currently ranks #248 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.