Name Awesome

Cass

#5,067 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Descendant of the curly-haired one

Cass has been given to 1,993 babies in the U.S. since 1881. In 2025 it ranked #5,067 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1989, with 43 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 93% boys, 7% girls all-time.

Babies named Cass, 2025

1 in 174,000

Cass over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020406018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Cass over time

In 2025, Cass went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

18812025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Cass: meaning, origin, and history

Descendant of the curly-haired one

surname transfer

What Cass means

Cass means “descendant of the curly-haired one”, associated with Cais.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

* As an English surname, from a pet form of Cassandra. * As an Irish surname, from Ó Cais (“descendant of the curly-haired one”), from cas (“curly”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Cass (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Cass is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Cass is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Cassius and Cassandra.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,860 boys were recorded with the name Cass between 1881 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 43 in 1989; its best national rank was #718 in 1881.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #4,158 in 2020 to #5,067 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #4,742 in 2015 to #5,067 in 2025.

In the United States, 133 girls were recorded with the name Cass between 1949 and 2017. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1983; its best national rank was #4,290 in 1949.

How common is Cass?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 174,000
19 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 89,900
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#5,067
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
120,943 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Cass sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 120,943 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Cass. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Casss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Cass was born before 1980 — so the typical Cass is around 45 today.

Median birth year
1980
About 45 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
13.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
26.9%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,532
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 13.0% of all recorded uses (242).

Is Cass rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+205
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−909
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−325
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.95×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
44.2%
Peak was 1989 (43)
Years since peak
36
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
25.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#718
1881

Spellings of Cass

Cass is not the most common spelling — Carl is, with 41.8% against Cass's 0.15%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Cass is used

Across 1910–2025, Cass was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 534,360 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Florida1 in —
  3. 3Georgia1 in —
  4. 4Illinois1 in —
  5. 5Michigan1 in —
  6. 6Tennessee1 in —
  7. 7Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Cass has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Cass around the world

Where Cass ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2001–2025
    #1,035
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2021–2024
    #727
    in 2024
  • Ireland
    2022–2024
    #785
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1991–1995
    #1,910
    in 1995
  • South Australia
    1984–1987
    #464
    in 1987

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Cass by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#5,067
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 909
Best rank ever
#718
1881
Peak year
1989
43 that year
First recorded
1881
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,860
Count in 2025
19

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#4,290
1949
Peak year
1983
10 that year
First recorded
1949
Last recorded
2017
All-time count
133
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Cass

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

CaseCasenCasynCasonCashtonCassianCashCasperCastonCashelCassidyCastielCasparCaspianCastorCastleCasmirCasimirCashusCasimerCasimiroCassielCashiusCasten

Sibling names for Cass

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Cass

Top names of 1989, Cass's peak yearThe 1980s in fullOther names that peaked in 1881Boys' names starting with C