Cree
A name believed to derive from the Native American Cree tribe.
Name Census estimates that about 2,162 living Americans carry the first name Cree. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Cree today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cree births was 2021 (167 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cree. 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 Cree with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Cree was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
- • Cree sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Cree is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 158,536 Americans
Peak year
2021
167 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,011
Tracked since 1989
Census
Cree in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,406 people with the first name Cree, which placed it at #9,750 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
#9,750
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,406 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
48.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cree
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cree is Black at 48.2%. The next largest groups are White (28.6%) and Two or More Races (11.1%). 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 Cree 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 Cree at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American48.2% · 677
- White28.6% · 402
- Two or more races11.1% · 156
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.3% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Cree
Cree is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,192 total registrations, 1,089 (49.7%) were male and 1,103 (50.3%) were female.
Cree as a male name
- Ranked #2,011 in 2024
- 76 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (120 births)
Cree as a female name
- Ranked #4,674 in 2024
- 29 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1991 (89 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Cree on both sides of the split. Of the 1,403 people counted with this name, 564 were male (40.2%) and 839 were female (59.8%).
Popularity
Cree: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cree from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 817 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cree 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 Cree during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Crees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Cree, while Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cree
The name Cree originates from the Cree language, spoken by the Cree people, an Indigenous group of North America. The Cree language is part of the Algonquian language family, and the name itself is derived from the Cree word "Nēhirawak," meaning "the exact people."
The Cree people have a rich cultural heritage that dates back thousands of years, and their name has been documented in various historical records and accounts from the early settlers and explorers of North America. One of the earliest written records of the name can be found in the journals of French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who encountered the Cree people during his expeditions in the early 17th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cree. One of the most famous was Cree Chief Poundmaker (c. 1842-1886), a respected leader of the Cree people who fought to protect his people's rights and lands during the North-West Rebellion in Canada in 1885.
Another prominent figure was Cree writer and scholar Tomson Highway (born 1951), who has made significant contributions to Canadian literature and has helped to preserve and promote Cree culture through his works.
In the field of art, Cree artist Kent Monkman (born 1965) has gained international recognition for his powerful and thought-provoking works that explore themes of colonialism, sexuality, and Indigenous identity.
Cree actor and activist Tantoo Cardinal (born 1950) has had a successful career in film and television, often portraying strong Indigenous characters and advocating for Indigenous rights.
Cree singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie (born 1941) has been a influential figure in the folk music scene and a advocate for Indigenous causes, using her music to raise awareness and bring about social change.
While the name Cree has its roots in the Indigenous culture of North America, it has transcended its origins and gained recognition worldwide, serving as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage and resilience of the Cree people.
People
Cree + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cree 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
Cree: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cree?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cree 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 158,536 US residents.
Is Cree a common name?
We classify Cree as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,192 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cree most popular?
The single biggest year for Cree was 2021, when 167 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cree is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cree in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,406 people with the name Cree, or 0.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,750 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 Cree 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 Cree?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Cree on both sides of the split. Of the 1,403 people counted with this name, 564 were male (40.2%) and 839 were female (59.8%). 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 Cree?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cree is Black at 48.2%. The next largest groups are White (28.6%) and Two or More Races (11.1%). 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 Cree most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Cree in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.2% (677 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 Cree in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cree a female name?
Yes, 50.3% of people registered as Cree 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 Cree still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cree 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 Cree 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 Cree?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Cree at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.