Cassell
A masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a surname.
Name Census estimates that about 43 living Americans carry the first name Cassell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cassell today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cassell births was 1922 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cassell. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cassell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
43
~ 1 in 7,971,031 Americans
Peak year
1922
8 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,459
Tracked since 1921
Census
Cassell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 200 people with the first name Cassell, which placed it at #38,397 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
#38,397
National first-name rank
People counted
200
200 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cassell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cassell is Black at 59.5%. The next largest groups are White (29.0%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Cassell 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 Cassell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.5% · 119
- White29.0% · 58
- Two or more races8.0% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
Popularity
Cassell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cassell from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 26 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cassell 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 Cassell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cassell
The name Cassell is believed to have its origins in the Old French language, deriving from the word "cassel," which means "small castle" or "fortified house." This name likely emerged during the Middle Ages, when castles and fortifications played a significant role in the lives of nobility and the ruling class.
In its earliest recorded use, the name Cassell was associated with individuals who lived near or held dominion over small castles or fortified structures. These structures were often used as defensive outposts or as residences for minor nobility or wealthy landowners.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cassell can be found in the annals of the Duchy of Normandy, where a knight named Cassell de Montfort is mentioned in a chronicle from the late 11th century. De Montfort was a renowned warrior who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
In the 13th century, a French nobleman named Cassell de Vergy was a prominent figure in the court of King Louis IX. De Vergy was known for his military exploits and his participation in the Seventh Crusade to the Holy Land.
During the Renaissance period, a Italian artist named Cassell Veneziano (c. 1490-1560) gained recognition for his intricate engravings and woodcuts. Veneziano's work was highly sought after by patrons throughout Italy and beyond.
In the 17th century, a Dutch philosopher and mathematician named Cassell Descartes (1596-1650) made significant contributions to the fields of philosophy and mathematics. Descartes is best known for his philosophical statement, "I think, therefore I am," and his work in developing the Cartesian coordinate system.
Another notable figure with the name Cassell was Cassell Hauser (1761-1833), a German artist and etcher who was renowned for his intricate and detailed landscape etchings. Hauser's work was widely admired and collected during his lifetime, and his etchings remain highly regarded by art connoisseurs today.
These examples illustrate the historical use of the name Cassell and its association with individuals from various walks of life, including nobility, artists, philosophers, and military figures. While the name may have originated from a specific geographical or cultural context, it has transcended those boundaries and become a part of the broader tapestry of human history.
People
Cassell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cassell 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
Cassell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cassell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 43 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cassell 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 7,971,031 US residents.
Is Cassell a common name?
We classify Cassell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 94 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cassell most popular?
The single biggest year for Cassell was 1922, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cassell is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cassell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 200 people with the name Cassell, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,397 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 Cassell 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 Cassell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cassell leans strongly male. 158 people counted with this name were male (81.0%), compared with 37 female bearers (19.0%). 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 Cassell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cassell is Black at 59.5%. The next largest groups are White (29.0%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Cassell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Cassell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.5% (119 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 Cassell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cassell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cassell in the SSA data are male. 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 Cassell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cassell 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 Cassell 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 share the name Cassell?
You can see how many people share the name Cassell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.