Caress
A feminine name derived from the French word meaning "to stroke gently".
Name Census estimates that about 199 living Americans carry the first name Caress. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caress today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caress births was 1986 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caress. 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
199
~ 1 in 1,722,384 Americans
Peak year
1986
69 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2000 SSA rank
#15,457
Tracked since 1978
Census
Caress in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 227 people with the first name Caress, which placed it at #35,437 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
#35,437
National first-name rank
People counted
227
227 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
63.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caress
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caress is Black at 63.9%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Hispanic (10.6%). 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 Caress 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 Caress at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American63.9% · 145
- White16.7% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 24
- Two or more races5.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 7
Popularity
Caress: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caress from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 149 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
Caress 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 Caress during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Caress' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Illinois, New York, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Caress, while North Carolina, New York, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caress
The given name Caress is derived from the French word "caresse," which means "an act of fondling or stroking as an expression of affection." Its roots can be traced back to the Latin word "caricia," meaning "a caress or an endearment." This name is believed to have originated in France during the 17th century, a time when the French language and culture held significant influence across Europe.
While the name Caress is not commonly associated with any specific historical references or ancient texts, it reflects the romantic and affectionate nature of the French language and culture. The name's connotation of tenderness and intimacy may have contributed to its adoption as a given name, albeit relatively uncommon.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caress can be found in the 18th century, when a French author named Caresse Silvert published a novel titled "Les Amours de Zéloïde et de l'Amant Aimé" in 1779. However, it is important to note that the use of the name at that time was likely inspired by the word itself rather than being a traditional given name.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Caress. One such person was Caresse Crosby (1891-1970), an American poet, publisher, and patron of the arts who co-founded the Black Sun Press with her husband Harry Crosby. She played a significant role in promoting modernist literature and publishing works by renowned authors such as D.H. Lawrence, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway.
Another individual with the name Caresse was Caresse Garnet (1916-2001), an American painter and sculptor known for her abstract expressionist works. Her art was exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States, and she was a prominent figure in the New York art scene during the mid-20th century.
In the literary world, Caresse Massigli (1894-1981) was a French writer and translator who authored several novels and short stories. She was also known for her translations of works by prominent authors like D.H. Lawrence and Henry Miller.
A more contemporary figure with the name Caresse was Caresse Henry (1952-2018), an American actress and model who appeared in several television shows and movies throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
While the name Caress may not have a long historical lineage, its unique meaning and association with affection and tenderness have made it a distinctive choice for individuals seeking a name with a romantic and poetic quality.
People
Caress + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caress 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
Caress: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caress?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 199 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caress 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 1,722,384 US residents.
Is Caress a common name?
We classify Caress as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 209 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caress most popular?
The single biggest year for Caress was 1986, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caress is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caress in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 227 people with the name Caress, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,437 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 Caress 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 Caress?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caress leans strongly female. 225 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Caress?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caress is Black at 63.9%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Hispanic (10.6%). 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 Caress most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Caress in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.9% (145 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 Caress in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caress a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caress 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 Caress still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caress 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 Caress 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 Caress as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Caress, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.