Kadie
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Katherine.
Name Census estimates that about 2,537 living Americans carry the first name Kadie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kadie today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kadie births was 1990 (112 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kadie. 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 Kadie with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 135,102 Americans
Peak year
1990
112 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,052
Tracked since 1975
Census
Kadie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,516 people with the first name Kadie, which placed it at #6,393 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
#6,393
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,516 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kadie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadie is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Kadie 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 Kadie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.4% · 1,998
- Black or African American7.8% · 196
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 173
- Two or more races3.1% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 19
Popularity
Kadie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kadie from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 892 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kadie 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 Kadie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kadies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Kadie, while Wisconsin, Washington, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kadie
The name Kadie is a diminutive form of the name Cadia, which has its origins in the ancient Greek language. Cadia was derived from the Greek word "kadios," meaning "pure" or "holy." This suggests that the name Kadie may have been associated with purity or holiness in its early usage.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kadie can be traced back to the 16th century in England. During this period, it was often spelled as "Cadye" or "Kadye." It is believed that the name was brought to England by Greek immigrants or travelers, and over time, it evolved into its current spelling and pronunciation.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Kadie was Kadie Croft, an English writer and poet who lived in the late 16th century. She is best known for her collection of love poems titled "Sonnets of the Heart," published in 1587.
In the 17th century, Kadie Wilkins, a prominent Puritan preacher, gained recognition for her fiery sermons and her advocacy for religious tolerance. She was born in 1635 and died in 1702.
During the 18th century, Kadie Beaumont, a French aristocrat and socialite, was known for her lavish parties and her involvement in the court of King Louis XVI. She was born in 1745 and died in 1813.
In the 19th century, Kadie Nightingale, an English nurse and social reformer, made significant contributions to improving healthcare and sanitation conditions in hospitals. She was born in 1820 and died in 1910.
Another notable figure with the name Kadie was Kadie Curie, a Polish-born physicist and chemist who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win it twice. She was born in 1867 and died in 1934.
While the name Kadie has been used throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other names. However, its association with purity, holiness, and notable figures in various fields has contributed to its enduring appeal and historical significance.
People
Kadie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kadie 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
Kadie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kadie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,537 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kadie 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 135,102 US residents.
Is Kadie a common name?
We classify Kadie as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,617 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kadie most popular?
The single biggest year for Kadie was 1990, when 112 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kadie is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kadie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,516 people with the name Kadie, or 0.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,393 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 Kadie 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 Kadie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kadie appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,509 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kadie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadie is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Kadie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kadie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.4% (1,998 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 Kadie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kadie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kadie 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 Kadie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kadie 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 Kadie 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 Kadie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.