Cable
A possible origin is from cable, the strong cord of twisted strands.
Name Census estimates that about 166 living Americans carry the first name Cable. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cable today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cable births was 2019 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cable. 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.
People living today
166
~ 1 in 2,064,785 Americans
Peak year
2019
16 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2020 SSA rank
#8,863
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Cable: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cable from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 68 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
Cable 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 Cable during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cable
The given name Cable is an English word name derived from the noun "cable", which refers to a thick rope or bundle of wires. The name's origins can be traced back to the late 19th century, when cables began to play a significant role in various industries, such as shipping and telecommunications.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cable appears in the 1891 book "The Cable-man" by Alfred Phillipps Hitchcock. The novel features a protagonist named Cable, who works as a telegraph operator. This literary reference highlights the name's association with the emerging communication technologies of the time.
In the early 20th century, the name Cable gained popularity in the United States, likely due to its association with the burgeoning cable industry and the growth of communication networks. One notable bearer of the name was Cable Totten (1892-1952), an American engineer and inventor who played a crucial role in the development of radio and television broadcasting.
Another historical figure named Cable was Cable Risdon (1891-1962), an American filmmaker and screenwriter. He worked on several notable films during the golden age of Hollywood, including "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923) and "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925).
In the world of sports, Cable Wilcox (1938-2019) was a Canadian football player who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League. He was a defensive back and was part of the team's Grey Cup championship wins in 1963 and 1965.
Cable Brandenburg (1892-1968) was an American artist and illustrator known for his work in the pulp fiction genre. His illustrations graced the covers of numerous science fiction and adventure magazines during the genre's heyday in the 1930s and 1940s.
While the name Cable may have originated as a reflection of technological advancements, it has since transcended its initial associations and has become a unique and distinctive given name in its own right.
People
Cable + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cable 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
Cable: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cable?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 166 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cable 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 2,064,785 US residents.
Is Cable a common name?
We classify Cable as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 170 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cable most popular?
The single biggest year for Cable was 2019, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cable is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cable a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cable in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.