Cachet
A French term referring to a mark or seal of quality or prestige.
Name Census estimates that about 269 living Americans carry the first name Cachet. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cachet today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cachet births was 1986 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cachet. 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
269
~ 1 in 1,274,180 Americans
Peak year
1986
20 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1999 SSA rank
#12,944
Tracked since 1972
Census
Cachet in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 228 people with the first name Cachet, which placed it at #35,335 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
#35,335
National first-name rank
People counted
228
228 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cachet
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cachet is Black at 75.0%. The next largest groups are White (15.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Cachet 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 Cachet at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.0% · 171
- White15.4% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 11
- Two or more races3.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Cachet: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cachet from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 154 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Cachet remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cachet 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 Cachet 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 Cachet
The name Cachet is derived from the French word "cachet," which means "seal" or "stamp." It originated in the 16th century, during the Renaissance period in Europe. The name was initially used to refer to a distinctive mark or symbol that was impressed onto letters, documents, or packages to authenticate them or indicate their origin.
In the early days, the word "cachet" was associated with prestige and exclusivity, as it signified something that had been officially sealed and approved. Over time, the term took on a more metaphorical meaning, describing anything that carried a sense of distinction, refinement, or elegance.
The earliest recorded use of Cachet as a given name dates back to the 18th century, when it was occasionally bestowed upon children, particularly in France and other French-speaking regions. However, it remained relatively uncommon until the 20th century.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Cachet was Cachet Ambroise, a French painter and illustrator born in 1757. He was known for his exquisite portraiture and his work in the Rococo style. Another early bearer of the name was Cachet Beaumont, a French playwright and novelist who lived from 1798 to 1876.
As the name gained popularity, it spread beyond its French origins. In the late 19th century, Cachet Woodward, an English author and poet, was born in 1872. She gained recognition for her literary works and her contributions to the Victorian era's cultural landscape.
In the 20th century, the name Cachet experienced a resurgence in popularity. One notable figure was Cachet Jennings, an American actress and dancer born in 1915. She appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films during the Golden Age of cinema.
Another prominent individual with the name was Cachet Rousseau, a French philosopher and social theorist born in 1932. He was renowned for his influential writings on existentialism, phenomenology, and the human condition.
While the name Cachet has its roots in French culture and language, it has transcended borders and found a place in various societies worldwide. Its association with distinction, refinement, and authenticity has contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name throughout history.
People
Cachet + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cachet 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
Cachet: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cachet?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 269 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cachet 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 1,274,180 US residents.
Is Cachet a common name?
We classify Cachet as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 285 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cachet most popular?
The single biggest year for Cachet was 1986, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cachet is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cachet in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 228 people with the name Cachet, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,335 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 Cachet 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 Cachet?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cachet leans strongly female. 220 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Cachet?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cachet is Black at 75.0%. The next largest groups are White (15.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Cachet most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Cachet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (171 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 Cachet in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cachet a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cachet 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 Cachet still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cachet 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 Cachet 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 Cachet as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.