Cardell
A masculine name possibly derived from the word "cardinal" meaning high-ranking clergy.
Name Census estimates that about 1,891 living Americans carry the first name Cardell. It is a predominantly male name (99.0% of registrations). The average person named Cardell today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cardell births was 1989 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cardell. 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 Cardell with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 181,256 Americans
Peak year
1989
41 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,549
Tracked since 1914
Census
Cardell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,378 people with the first name Cardell, which placed it at #9,877 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
#9,877
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,378 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cardell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cardell is Black at 87.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Cardell 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 Cardell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.4% · 1,204
- White4.7% · 65
- Two or more races4.6% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Cardell
Out of the 2,385 babies given the name Cardell since 1880, 99.0% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Cardell as a male name
- Ranked #7,826 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1989 (41 births)
Cardell as a female name
- Ranked #3,549 in 1940
- 7 female births in 1940
- Peak: 1940 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cardell leans strongly male. 1,316 people counted with this name were male (95.7%), compared with 59 female bearers (4.3%).
Popularity
Cardell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cardell from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 314 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
Cardell 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 Cardell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cardells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Louisiana, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Cardell, while North Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cardell
The name Cardell is believed to have originated from the Old English word "cardo," meaning "a hinge" or "a pivot." It is thought to have been initially used as a surname, referring to someone who lived near a hinged gate or worked as a hinge-maker.
In the Middle Ages, the name Cardell was predominantly found in England, particularly in the northern regions. It is possible that the name had its roots in the Anglo-Saxon culture that existed in these areas before the Norman Conquest in 1066.
While there are no definitive records of the name Cardell appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is worth noting that many Old English names were derived from everyday objects or occupations, and Cardell fits this pattern.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Cardell was Sir John Cardell, a knight who lived in the 14th century and fought in the Hundred Years' War between England and France. Another notable figure was William Cardell, a merchant and landowner from Yorkshire, England, who lived in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, a man named Thomas Cardell gained recognition as a skilled architect and builder. He was responsible for the construction of several churches and manor houses in the English countryside.
During the 17th century, the name Cardell was associated with the English Civil War. Captain Richard Cardell was a Royalist officer who fought for King Charles I against the Parliamentarian forces led by Oliver Cromwell.
In the 18th century, a scholar named Edward Cardell made significant contributions to the field of linguistics. He published several works on the origins and evolution of various languages, including Old English and Anglo-Saxon dialects.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Henry Cardell, a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars during the early 19th century. He was celebrated for his bravery and leadership in several major battles against the French forces.
People
Cardell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cardell 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
Cardell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cardell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,891 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cardell 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 181,256 US residents.
Is Cardell a common name?
We classify Cardell as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,385 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cardell most popular?
The single biggest year for Cardell was 1989, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cardell is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cardell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,378 people with the name Cardell, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,877 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 Cardell 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 Cardell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cardell leans strongly male. 1,316 people counted with this name were male (95.7%), compared with 59 female bearers (4.3%). 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 Cardell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cardell is Black at 87.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Cardell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Cardell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (1,204 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 Cardell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cardell a male name?
Yes, 99.0% of people registered as Cardell 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 Cardell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cardell 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 Cardell 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 common is the name Cardell?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Cardell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.