unisex name
Casey
KAY-see
- Origin Irish
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 215,732
the United States
#320
2025 births
Casey is a name of Irish origin meaning "vigilant" or "watchful." It anglicizes Ó Cathasaigh, from cathasach — and its American fame comes from a railway engineer named for a town, not the Irish word.
- Casey is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1987, when 7,510 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,550 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1888.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Casey over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 6 |
| 1890s | 37 |
| 1900s | 89 |
| 1910s | 444 |
| 1920s | 357 |
| 1930s | 277 |
| 1940s | 619 |
| 1950s | 3,087 |
| 1960s | 5,682 |
| 1970s | 27,633 |
| 1980s | 63,886 |
| 1990s | 55,154 |
| 2000s | 21,382 |
| 2010s | 9,173 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,949 |
What Casey means
Casey means watchful or vigilant, from the Irish cathasach. A competing reading gives brave in battle, from cath, a battle, and the two derivations are argued.
Where Casey comes from
Casey anglicizes the Irish Ó Cathasaigh, from cathasach, usually read as vigilant or watchful, though some derive it instead from cath, battle. Its American life owes to Casey Jones, the engineer killed in 1900 when he stayed at the brake of his train to slow it before a collision; the ballad made him a folk hero. His name was not Irish at all — he was John Luther Jones, nicknamed Casey after Cayce, the Kentucky town he grew up in.
Casey in use
Our data records Casey for both sexes and shows it falling, peaking in 1987, and it first appears in our records in 1888. Its 1988 peak places it with Jordan, Taylor and Morgan — the cohort of unisex surname-names that rose and fell together through the 1980s and 1990s.
How popular is Casey?
In 2025, Casey was given to 1,300 babies in the United States, ranking #320 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Casey 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 Casey
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Casey also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Casey over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Casey
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.
Casey 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 Casey
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Casey — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Casey
What does the name Casey mean?
Casey means "vigilant" or "watchful," from the Irish cathasach — though a competing reading gives brave in battle.
Who was Casey Jones?
A railway engineer killed in 1900 slowing his train before a collision. He was born John Luther Jones and nicknamed after Cayce, Kentucky.
Is Casey a boy's or a girl's name?
Both. Our data records it as unisex.
How popular is the name Casey?
In 2025, Casey was given to 1,300 babies in the United States, ranking #320 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Casey?
Casey has 2 syllables.
When was Casey most popular?
Casey peaked in 1987, when 7,510 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Casey?
Casey is usually shortened to Case.
Is Casey a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Casey currently ranks #119 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.