Candance
A name of Latin origin meaning "glowing with light".
Name Census estimates that about 2,008 living Americans carry the first name Candance. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Candance today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Candance births was 1981 (93 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Candance. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 170,694 Americans
Peak year
1981
93 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2008 SSA rank
#11,777
Tracked since 1945
Census
Candance in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,997 people with the first name Candance, which placed it at #7,584 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
#7,584
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,997 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Candance
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Candance is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (32.8%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Candance 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 Candance at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.3% · 1,125
- Black or African American32.8% · 655
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 83
- Two or more races3.9% · 78
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 23
Popularity
Candance: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Candance from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 729 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
Candance 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 Candance during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Candances live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Candance, while New York, Michigan, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Candance
The name Candance originates from the Latin word "candidus," meaning "white" or "pure." It is believed to have emerged in the late Roman period, around the 4th or 5th century AD. The earliest known use of the name can be traced back to early Christian communities in Europe, where it was likely used as a symbolic name to represent purity and innocence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Candance is found in the writings of the 6th-century Christian philosopher Boethius. In his work "The Consolation of Philosophy," he mentions a character named Candance, which suggests that the name was in use during that time period.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Candance remained relatively uncommon, but it continued to be used within various Christian communities across Europe. It is worth noting that during this period, the spelling of the name could vary significantly, with variations such as Candaunce, Candaunce, and Candauncye appearing in historical records.
In the 16th century, the name gained some prominence with the rise of the Puritan movement in England. Puritans often favored names with biblical or classical roots, and Candance, with its Latin origins and connotations of purity, likely appealed to their sensibilities.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Candance was Candance Parrenss (1567-1624), an English Puritan writer and poet. Her works, which included religious poetry and devotional writings, were widely read and influential among Puritan circles in the 17th century.
Another prominent figure was Candance Bradstreet (1612-1672), considered the first published American poet. Her collection of poems, titled "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America," was published in 1650 and received widespread acclaim for its literary merit.
In the 18th century, the name Candance gained popularity among the aristocracy and upper classes in Europe. One notable bearer of the name was Candance Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), a British writer, philosopher, and advocate for women's rights. Her influential work, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," published in 1792, is considered a foundational text in the feminist movement.
Another historically significant figure was Candance Nightingale (1820-1910), the pioneering British nurse who laid the foundations for modern nursing practices. Her dedication and efforts during the Crimean War earned her widespread recognition and the title "The Lady with the Lamp."
While the name Candance has undergone various spelling variations throughout history, its core meaning and association with purity and innocence have remained consistent. Despite its relatively rare usage, the name has been borne by several notable figures across various fields, leaving an indelible mark on history.
People
Candance + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Candance 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
Candance: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Candance?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,008 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Candance 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 170,694 US residents.
Is Candance a common name?
We classify Candance as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,294 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Candance most popular?
The single biggest year for Candance was 1981, when 93 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Candance is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Candance in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,997 people with the name Candance, or 0.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,584 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 Candance 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 Candance?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Candance appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,996 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 Candance?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Candance is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (32.8%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Candance most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Candance in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (1,125 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 Candance in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Candance a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Candance 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 Candance still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Candance 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 Candance 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 are named Candance?
Want to know how many Americans are named Candance? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.