Candi
A feminine name derived from the word "candy", possibly signifying sweetness.
Name Census estimates that about 6,427 living Americans carry the first name Candi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Candi today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Candi births was 1980 (360 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Candi. 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 Candi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
6.4K
~ 1 in 53,330 Americans
Peak year
1980
360 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2022 SSA rank
#15,748
Tracked since 1944
Census
Candi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,243 people with the first name Candi, which placed it at #3,385 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
#3,385
National first-name rank
People counted
6.2K
6,243 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Candi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Candi is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Candi 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 Candi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 4,727
- Black or African American9.9% · 617
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 535
- Two or more races3.9% · 245
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 57
Popularity
Candi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Candi from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 2,206 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Candi 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 Candi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Candis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Candi, while New Jersey, Massachusetts, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 143 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Candi
The name Candi is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit word "Chandi," which means "fierce" or "wrathful." This name is commonly associated with the Hindu goddess Chandi, who is considered a fierce and powerful form of the divine feminine energy.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Candi can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Devi Mahatmya and the Markandeya Purana. These texts describe the goddess Chandi as a manifestation of the supreme divine power, capable of defeating demons and restoring order in the universe.
One of the earliest and most famous references to the name Candi can be found in the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic. In this text, the goddess Chandi is invoked by the divine beings to aid Rama in his battle against the demon king Ravana.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Candi or its variations. One such individual was Candi Dasa, a 16th-century Bengali poet and composer who wrote devotional songs dedicated to the goddess Chandi.
Another noteworthy figure was Candi Kartini (1879-1904), an Indonesian national heroine and pioneer in the emancipation of women. She is celebrated for her efforts in promoting education for women and challenging traditional gender roles in Indonesia.
In the realm of literature, Candi Firman Ananda (1932-2008) was an Indonesian author and journalist known for her works that explored themes of social justice and women's rights.
Moving to the world of music, Candi Staton (born 1940) is an American singer and actress who found success in the genres of R&B, soul, and gospel music. Her hit songs include "Young Hearts Run Free" and "You Got the Love."
Lastly, Candi Milo (born 1961) is an American voice actress renowned for her work in animated series and video games. She has lent her voice to iconic characters such as Coco Bandicoot in the Crash Bandicoot series and various roles in the popular anime series Naruto.
People
Candi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Candi 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
Candi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Candi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,427 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Candi 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 53,330 US residents.
Is Candi a common name?
We classify Candi as "Rare". It ranks above 97% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,356 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Candi most popular?
The single biggest year for Candi was 1980, when 360 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Candi is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Candi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,243 people with the name Candi, or 2.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,385 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 Candi 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 Candi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Candi appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,244 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Candi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Candi is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Candi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Candi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (4,727 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 Candi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Candi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Candi in the SSA data are female. 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 Candi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Candi 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 Candi 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 are called Candi?
You can see how many people have the name Candi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.