Cami
A feminine name derived from Spanish and Portuguese, meaning "path" or "way".
Name Census estimates that about 5,270 living Americans carry the first name Cami. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cami today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cami births was 1967 (351 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cami. 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 Cami with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.3K
~ 1 in 65,039 Americans
Peak year
1967
351 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,222
Tracked since 1955
Census
Cami in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,623 people with the first name Cami, which placed it at #3,631 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
#3,631
National first-name rank
People counted
5.6K
5,623 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cami
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cami is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Cami 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 Cami at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.7% · 4,705
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 313
- Two or more races3.8% · 211
- Black or African American3.7% · 207
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 139
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 48
Popularity
Cami: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cami from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 999 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cami 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 Cami during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Camis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. Utah, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Cami, while Hawaii, North Carolina, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 74 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cami
The given name Cami has its origins in several languages and cultures, with varying meanings and historical references. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word 'caminus', meaning 'furnace' or 'hearth', suggesting a connection to warmth and comfort.
In some European cultures, Cami was a diminutive form of the name Camilla, which itself was derived from the ancient Roman word 'camillus', referring to a young male attendant in religious ceremonies. This association with religious rites and traditions lends a sense of reverence to the name.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cami gained popularity in certain regions of Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy. It was often used as a nickname for longer names like Camilla or Carmela. Historical records from this period show instances of the name being used, albeit infrequently.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Cami dates back to the 16th century, when a notable Italian Renaissance painter, Cami Camilotti (1528-1592), gained recognition for her religious works and portraits. Another early bearer of the name was Cami Porzio (1551-1616), an Italian philosopher and humanist scholar.
In the 18th century, Cami Felice Querengo (1712-1785), an Italian mathematician and astronomer, made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. Her work on the orbits of planets and comets earned her a place in the annals of scientific history.
Moving into the 19th century, Cami Montalvo (1832-1889) was a Venezuelan writer and poet whose works explored themes of love, nature, and patriotism. Her poems resonated with the cultural and political landscapes of her time.
The 20th century saw the name Cami being used more widely, with several notable figures bearing this moniker. Cami Werghi (1911-1985), an influential Algerian writer and journalist, was a prominent voice in the struggle for Algerian independence and a champion of women's rights.
In the realm of sports, Cami Koss (1946-2015) was a German swimmer who won multiple Olympic medals in the 1960s, including gold in the 4×100 meter medley relay at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have carried the name Cami throughout history, spanning various fields and cultures.
People
Cami + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cami 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
Cami: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cami?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,270 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cami 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 65,039 US residents.
Is Cami a common name?
We classify Cami as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,636 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cami most popular?
The single biggest year for Cami was 1967, when 351 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cami is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cami in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,623 people with the name Cami, or 1.86 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,631 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 Cami 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 Cami?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cami appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,621 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Cami?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cami is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Cami most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cami in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (4,705 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 Cami in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cami a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cami 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 Cami still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cami 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 Cami 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 the name Cami?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.