Cadan
Of Celtic origin, a masculine name meaning "spirit of battle".
Name Census estimates that about 319 living Americans carry the first name Cadan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cadan today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cadan births was 2007 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cadan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Cadan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
319
~ 1 in 1,074,465 Americans
Peak year
2007
31 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,002
Tracked since 1997
Census
Cadan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 348 people with the first name Cadan, which placed it at #26,649 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,649
National first-name rank
People counted
348
348 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cadan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cadan is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Cadan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Cadan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 262
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 37
- Two or more races6.6% · 23
- Black or African American5.7% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
Popularity
Cadan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cadan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 183 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cadan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cadan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cadan
The name Cadan has its origins in the Welsh language and culture, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Welsh word "cad," which means "battle" or "conflict," suggesting a connection to ancient Welsh warriors or military leaders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cadan can be found in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditional stories and legends from the Middle Ages. In these texts, Cadan is mentioned as the name of a legendary figure, though the details surrounding this individual are scarce.
In the 12th century, a prominent Welsh historian and scholar named Cadan ap Iorwerth ap Cadwgan was born. He is known for his work in chronicling the history and genealogies of Welsh noble families during that time period.
During the 14th century, a Welsh poet named Cadan Fardd lived and composed works that celebrated Welsh culture and traditions. His poetry is considered an important contribution to the preservation of the Welsh language and literary heritage.
In the 16th century, a notable Welsh landowner and nobleman named Cadan ap Rhys ap Gruffydd was born. He played a significant role in the political and social affairs of his time, serving as a member of the Council of Wales and the Marches.
In more recent history, Cadan Pearce was a Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales in the early 20th century. He was born in 1882 and played as a forward for several Welsh clubs, including Cardiff RFC and Swansea RFC.
While the name Cadan has deep roots in Welsh history and culture, it has remained relatively uncommon in modern times, preserving its unique and distinctive character.
People
Cadan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cadan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cadan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cadan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cadan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,074,465 US residents.
Is Cadan a common name?
We classify Cadan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 322 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cadan most popular?
The single biggest year for Cadan was 2007, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cadan is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cadan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 348 people with the name Cadan, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,649 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Cadan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Cadan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cadan leans strongly male. 318 people counted with this name were male (91.9%), compared with 28 female bearers (8.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Cadan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cadan is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Cadan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cadan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (262 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Cadan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cadan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cadan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Cadan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cadan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Cadan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Cadan as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Cadan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.