Cairon
A masculine given name of modern English origin meaning "dark and pious".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Cairon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cairon today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cairon births was 2021 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cairon. 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 Cairon with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cairon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
2021
10 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2022 SSA rank
#8,416
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Cairon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cairon from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 45 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Cairon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cairon 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 Cairon 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 Cairon
The name Cairon originates from the ancient Celtic language spoken in the British Isles and parts of northwestern Europe over 2,000 years ago. It is derived from the Proto-Celtic root "car" meaning "to love" or "beloved", combined with the suffix "-on" which was a common masculine ending. The name can be translated to mean "the beloved one" or "dear friend".
Records show that Cairon was a relatively common name among the ancient Celtic tribes such as the Britons, Picts, and Gaels. It appeared in early Welsh poetry and folklore, often referring to legendary heroes or warriors. One notable example is the character Cairon ap Cenydd, a knight featured in the medieval Welsh tales known as the Mabinogion.
In the 5th century AD, a Briton chieftain named Cairon is mentioned in the writings of the monk Gildas as leading a rebellion against the invading Anglo-Saxons. This historical figure may have contributed to the name's continued use among the Welsh and Cornish people during the early medieval period.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cairon was also found in Ireland, where it was rendered as Cáerán or Ciarán. St. Ciarán of Saigir (516-609) was an influential Irish monk and one of the earliest Christian missionaries to have this name. His feast day is celebrated on March 5th in the Catholic Church.
Another notable figure was Cairon Bor, a 9th century Welsh prince and heir to the kingdom of Dyfed. He is remembered for his conflicts with the Vikings and his attempts to resist the growing influence of the Anglo-Saxons in Wales.
In the 12th century, a French knight named Cairon de Beaumont accompanied Richard the Lionheart on the Third Crusade. He was praised for his bravery and skill in battle, and his exploits were recorded in various chronicles of the time.
While the name Cairon fell out of widespread use after the medieval period, it continued to appear occasionally throughout history. For example, Cairon O'Doherty (1587-1608) was an Irish chieftain and rebel who led an uprising against English rule in Ulster.
People
Cairon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cairon 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
Cairon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cairon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cairon 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Cairon a common name?
We classify Cairon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 76 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cairon most popular?
The single biggest year for Cairon was 2021, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cairon is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Cairon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cairon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cairon 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.
Is Cairon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cairon 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 Cairon 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Cairon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.