Castle
A name derived from the English word for a fortified residence or stronghold.
Name Census estimates that about 343 living Americans carry the first name Castle. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Castle today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Castle births was 2018 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Castle. 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.
People living today
343
~ 1 in 999,284 Americans
Peak year
2018
32 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,201
Tracked since 1916
Census
Castle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 412 people with the first name Castle, which placed it at #23,670 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
#23,670
National first-name rank
People counted
412
412 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Castle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Castle is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Two or More Races (8.5%). 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 Castle 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 Castle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.9% · 292
- Black or African American10.0% · 41
- Two or more races8.5% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 5
Popularity
Castle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Castle from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 196 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Castle remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Castle 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 Castle 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 Castle
The name Castle is an English name derived from the Old English word "castel," which itself came from the Latin word "castellum," meaning a fortified village or small fort. The name likely originated in the early medieval period, around the 5th to 11th centuries, as castles and fortified structures became more prominent features of the European landscape.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Castle can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name was in use by at least the 11th century in England.
Historically, the name Castle may have been used as a surname or place name before becoming a given name. It could have referred to someone who lived near or worked in a castle or fortified structure. As a given name, it may have been chosen to symbolize strength, protection, or nobility.
One notable individual with the name Castle was Sir John Castle (c. 1420-1493), an English nobleman and soldier who fought in the Wars of the Roses. Another was William Castle (1914-1977), an American film director and actor known for his work in the horror and low-budget film genres.
In literature, the name Castle appears in the works of William Shakespeare, such as in the character of Sir John Castle in the play "Henry VI, Part 2." Additionally, the character of Richard Castle in the popular crime fiction series by the same name, written by Richard Castle and based on the fictional writer of the same name, has helped to popularize the name in recent times.
Other notable individuals with the name Castle include:
1. Barbara Castle (1910-2002), a British Labour Party politician who served as the first woman to hold the position of Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity.
2. Irene Castle (1893-1969), an American dancer and fashion icon of the early 20th century, known for popularizing modern dance styles and influencing fashion trends.
3. Jonny Castle (born 1985), an English professional wrestler and actor, known for his work in the independent wrestling circuit and appearances in films like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Captain America: The First Avenger."
4. Louise Castle (1915-2003), an American actress and singer who performed on Broadway and in films throughout the mid-20th century.
5. Terry Castle (born 1953), an American literary critic and professor who has written extensively on subjects related to gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ+ studies.
People
Castle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Castle 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
Castle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Castle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 343 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Castle 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 999,284 US residents.
Is Castle a common name?
We classify Castle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 367 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Castle most popular?
The single biggest year for Castle was 2018, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Castle is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Castle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 412 people with the name Castle, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,670 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 Castle 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 Castle?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Castle on both sides of the split. Of the 411 people counted with this name, 317 were male (77.1%) and 94 were female (22.9%). 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 Castle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Castle is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Two or More Races (8.5%). 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 Castle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Castle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.9% (292 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 Castle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Castle a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Castle 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 Castle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Castle 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 Castle 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 Americans are named Castle?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.