Kadence
A rhythmic cadence or flow, rooted in the Latin word "cadere".
Name Census estimates that about 12,958 living Americans carry the first name Kadence. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Kadence today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kadence births was 2005 (953 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kadence. 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 Kadence with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Kadence is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 26,451 Americans
Peak year
2005
953 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,533
Tracked since 1994
Census
Kadence in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,311 people with the first name Kadence, which placed it at #2,413 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
#2,413
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,311 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kadence
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadence is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Kadence 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 Kadence at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.1% · 7,018
- Black or African American13.5% · 1,392
- Two or more races8.1% · 831
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 776
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 178
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 116
Gender
Gender distribution for Kadence
Kadence leans heavily female at 87.8% of total registrations, but 1,603 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kadence as a male name
- Ranked #1,893 in 2024
- 84 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (106 births)
Kadence as a female name
- Ranked #1,533 in 2024
- 139 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (911 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kadence leans strongly female. 9,384 people counted with this name were female (91.0%), compared with 924 male bearers (9.0%).
Popularity
Kadence: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kadence from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5,865 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kadence 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 Kadence during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kadences live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kadence, while Delaware, Vermont, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 224 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kadence
The name Kadence is a relatively modern invention, originating in the late 20th century. It is an English name derived from the word "cadence," which means a rhythmic flow or sequence of sounds. The name was likely inspired by the musical term, reflecting a harmonious and melodic quality.
While the name Kadence itself is new, it may draw some influence from the ancient Greek name Cadmus, which means "order" or "harmony." Cadmus was a legendary figure in Greek mythology who introduced the Phoenician alphabet to the Greeks. However, there is no direct historical connection between Kadence and Cadmus.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kadence appears to be in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the United States. It gained popularity as a unique and melodic alternative to more traditional names. Some of the first notable individuals with the name Kadence include:
1. Kadence Miah, an American singer and songwriter born in 1994.
2. Kadence Kendall, an American fashion model and actress born in 1996.
3. Kadence Porter, an American basketball player born in 1998.
4. Kadence Bautista, an American gymnast born in 2001.
5. Kadence Saxton, an American actress and dancer born in 2004.
While the name Kadence is relatively new and has no extensive historical references, it has gained a following among parents seeking unique and rhythmic names for their children. The name's connection to music and harmony has made it appealing to many, and it is likely to continue growing in popularity in the years to come.
People
Kadence + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kadence as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kadence: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kadence?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,958 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kadence 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 26,451 US residents.
Is Kadence a common name?
We classify Kadence as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,090 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kadence most popular?
The single biggest year for Kadence was 2005, when 953 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kadence is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kadence in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,311 people with the name Kadence, or 3.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,413 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 Kadence 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 Kadence?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kadence leans strongly female. 9,384 people counted with this name were female (91.0%), compared with 924 male bearers (9.0%). 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 Kadence?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadence is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Kadence most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kadence in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.1% (7,018 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 Kadence in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kadence a female name?
Yes, 87.8% of people registered as Kadence 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 Kadence still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kadence 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 Kadence 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 have the name Kadence?
Want to know how many people have the name Kadence? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.