Cidney
A feminine name derived from Sidney, of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 866 living Americans carry the first name Cidney. It is a predominantly female name (98.1% of registrations). The average person named Cidney today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cidney births was 1999 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cidney. 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 Cidney with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
866
~ 1 in 395,790 Americans
Peak year
1999
58 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2007 SSA rank
#12,695
Tracked since 1949
Census
Cidney in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 992 people with the first name Cidney, which placed it at #12,521 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
#12,521
National first-name rank
People counted
992
992 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cidney
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cidney is White at 43.8%. The next largest groups are Black (37.1%) and Hispanic (9.9%). 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 Cidney 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 Cidney at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.8% · 434
- Black or African American37.1% · 368
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 98
- Two or more races5.6% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 16
Gender
Gender distribution for Cidney
Cidney leans heavily female at 98.1% of total registrations, but 17 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Cidney as a male name
- Ranked #12,695 in 2007
- 5 male births in 2007
- Peak: 1967 (7 births)
Cidney as a female name
- Ranked #16,399 in 2017
- 5 female births in 2017
- Peak: 1999 (58 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cidney leans strongly female. 876 people counted with this name were female (88.0%), compared with 119 male bearers (12.0%).
Popularity
Cidney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cidney from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 364 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
Cidney 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 Cidney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cidneys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Cidney, while Tennessee, Georgia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cidney
The given name Cidney has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 8th century AD. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "cydde," meaning "famous" or "renowned." The name was initially used as a surname before eventually transitioning into a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cidney can be found in the Domesday Book, a famous historical record compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. This document mentions a landowner named Cidney de Beaumont, indicating that the name was already in use during the Norman era.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Cidney maintained a presence, albeit relatively rare. Notable individuals bearing this name include Cidney of Anjou, a 12th-century noblewoman who played a significant role in the political affairs of the Angevin Empire.
In the 16th century, the name gained some popularity among the upper classes of English society. Cidney Devereux (1540-1619) was a prominent figure at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, serving as a lady-in-waiting and a close confidante of the monarch.
During the Renaissance period, the name Cidney was associated with literary and artistic circles. Cidney Jonson (1572-1637), a renowned English playwright and poet, was a contemporary of William Shakespeare and is best known for his satirical plays and masques.
In the realm of religion, Cidney Bunyan (1628-1688) was a notable English writer and Puritan preacher. His allegorical work, "The Pilgrim's Progress," is considered one of the most significant literary works in the English language.
Crossing into the 18th century, Cidney Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was a pioneering English writer, philosopher, and advocate for women's rights. Her groundbreaking work, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," is regarded as a foundational text of modern feminist philosophy.
While the name Cidney has maintained a presence throughout history, it has never achieved widespread popularity. However, its rich linguistic heritage and association with notable figures across various fields make it a unique and fascinating name with deep cultural roots.
People
Cidney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cidney 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
Cidney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cidney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 866 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cidney 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 395,790 US residents.
Is Cidney a common name?
We classify Cidney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 892 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cidney most popular?
The single biggest year for Cidney was 1999, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cidney is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cidney in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 992 people with the name Cidney, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,521 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 Cidney 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 Cidney?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cidney leans strongly female. 876 people counted with this name were female (88.0%), compared with 119 male bearers (12.0%). 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 Cidney?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cidney is White at 43.8%. The next largest groups are Black (37.1%) and Hispanic (9.9%). 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 Cidney most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cidney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.8% (434 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 Cidney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cidney a female name?
Yes, 98.1% of people registered as Cidney 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 Cidney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cidney 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 Cidney 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 Cidney?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.