Caridad
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "charity" or "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 1,533 living Americans carry the first name Caridad. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caridad today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caridad births was 1971 (59 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caridad. 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
1.5K
~ 1 in 223,584 Americans
Peak year
1971
59 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2021 SSA rank
#15,710
Tracked since 1924
Popularity
Caridad: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caridad from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 478 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caridad 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 Caridad during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Caridads live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, Florida, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Caridad, while Texas, Hawaii, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 188 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caridad
The name Caridad is derived from the Spanish word "caridad," which means "charity" or "love." It finds its roots in the Latin word "caritas," which has the same meaning. The name Caridad originated in Spain and the Spanish-speaking regions of Europe during the Middle Ages.
Caridad was a popular name among Spanish and Portuguese Christians, as it was associated with the virtue of charity and love, which were highly valued in Catholic teachings. The name was often given to children as a reminder of the importance of compassion and generosity towards others.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caridad can be found in the writings of the Spanish mystic and poet, St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), who used the name as a symbolic representation of divine love.
In the 16th century, there was a Spanish noblewoman named Caridad de la Cruz (1515-1560), who was known for her charitable works and her devotion to the Catholic faith.
Another notable figure with the name Caridad was Caridad Mercader (1884-1952), a Puerto Rican educator and activist who played a crucial role in promoting education and women's rights in her country.
In the 20th century, Caridad Martínez (1915-2003) was a Cuban-American artist and sculptor who gained recognition for her abstract and figurative works.
Caridad Piñeiro (1918-2005) was a Cuban writer and poet who explored themes of love, identity, and social justice in her literary works.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Caridad, reflecting its deep-rooted connection to the concepts of love, charity, and compassion.
People
Caridad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caridad 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
Caridad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caridad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,533 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caridad 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 223,584 US residents.
Is Caridad a common name?
We classify Caridad as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,754 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caridad most popular?
The single biggest year for Caridad was 1971, when 59 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caridad is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Caridad a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caridad 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.
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.