Cashmere
A Persian name representing a luxurious fabric made from cashmere goats.
Name Census estimates that about 1,280 living Americans carry the first name Cashmere. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 53.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Cashmere today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cashmere births was 2020 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cashmere. 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.
Key insights
- • Cashmere was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
- • Cashmere sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Cashmere is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 267,777 Americans
Peak year
2020
65 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,950
Tracked since 1920
Gender
Gender distribution for Cashmere
Cashmere is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,304 total registrations, 613 (47.0%) were male and 691 (53.0%) were female.
Cashmere as a male name
- Ranked #2,950 in 2024
- 42 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (47 births)
Cashmere as a female name
- Ranked #9,028 in 2024
- 11 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1995 (35 births)
Popularity
Cashmere: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cashmere from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 427 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Cashmere remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cashmere 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 Cashmere during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cashmeres live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Ohio recorded the most babies named Cashmere, while Wisconsin, Texas, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cashmere
The given name Cashmere is derived from the word "Kashmir", which is a region located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The region is known for its production of high-quality cashmere wool, which is obtained from the Cashmere goat. The name is believed to have originated in the late 16th or early 17th century, when the cashmere wool trade was flourishing in the region.
In its earliest form, the name was likely spelled as "Kashmiri" or "Kashmiri", referring to someone from the Kashmir region. Over time, the spelling evolved into the more anglicized form of "Cashmere". This name was likely adopted by individuals who were involved in the cashmere wool trade or had connections to the Kashmir region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cashmere can be found in the travel writings of the Italian merchant Francesco Carletti, who visited Kashmir in the early 17th century. He documented the production of cashmere wool and the skilled artisans who worked with it.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Cashmere. One of the earliest was Cashmere Shawl (1790-1860), an Indian textile merchant who played a significant role in popularizing the cashmere shawl in Europe and North America during the 19th century.
Another prominent figure was Cashmere Lal (1870-1945), an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice and Education in the Princely State of Kashmir during the early 20th century.
In the world of literature, Cashmere Blanc (1892-1957) was a French poet and novelist known for her vivid descriptions of the Kashmir region in her writings.
Cashmere Rose (1920-2005), an American fashion designer, was renowned for her innovative use of cashmere fabric in her clothing lines, contributing to the popularity of cashmere garments in the mid-20th century.
Lastly, Cashmere Khan (1965-present) is a contemporary British fashion designer who has gained international recognition for his luxurious cashmere collections, blending traditional Kashmiri craftsmanship with modern design elements.
People
Cashmere + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cashmere 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
Cashmere: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cashmere?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,280 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cashmere 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 267,777 US residents.
Is Cashmere a common name?
We classify Cashmere as "Rare". It ranks above 91.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,304 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cashmere most popular?
The single biggest year for Cashmere was 2020, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cashmere is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cashmere a female name?
Yes, 53.0% of people registered as Cashmere 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.