Cassia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "cinnamon bark".
Name Census estimates that about 2,037 living Americans carry the first name Cassia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cassia today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cassia births was 2024 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cassia. 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 168,264 Americans
Peak year
2024
84 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,234
Tracked since 1954
Popularity
Cassia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cassia from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 518 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Cassia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cassia 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 Cassia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cassias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Cassia, while Illinois, Washington, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 76 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cassia
The name Cassia has its origins in the Latin language and is derived from the plant of the same name, which is a type of cinnamon-like bark. The name was likely first used in ancient Rome, where the cassia plant was valued for its fragrance and used in perfumes and incense.
In ancient Greek mythology, Cassia was one of the Hesperides, the nymphs who guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides. This association with Greek mythology and the concept of beauty and fertility may have contributed to the popularity of the name in later periods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cassia can be found in the writings of Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist who lived from 23-79 AD. He described the cassia plant and its uses in his work "Natural History."
During the Middle Ages, the name Cassia was occasionally used as a feminine form of the masculine name Cassius, which was derived from the same Latin root. However, it was not a particularly common name during this time period.
In the Renaissance era, the name Cassia gained more popularity, particularly in Italy, where it was associated with the cassia flower and its sweet fragrance. One notable bearer of the name was Cassia da Narni (c. 1472-1542), an Italian nun and mystic who was known for her ecstatic visions and spiritual writings.
Another famous Cassia was Cassia Travaglini (1514-1563), an Italian painter and engraver who was one of the first women to be elected to the Accademia di San Luca, the prestigious academy of artists in Rome.
In the 17th century, the name Cassia was used by the English poet and playwright William Davenant (1606-1668) for one of the characters in his play "The Cruel Brother."
During the 19th century, the name gained popularity in English-speaking countries, possibly influenced by the romantic associations with ancient Rome and Greek mythology. One notable bearer of the name was Cassia Patton (1845-1892), an American educator and activist who was the first African American woman to be appointed a school principal in Ohio.
Another Cassia from this time period was Cassia Sprigg Beveridge (1861-1946), an American novelist and writer who published several works of fiction and non-fiction.
People
Cassia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cassia 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
Cassia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cassia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,037 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cassia 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 168,264 US residents.
Is Cassia a common name?
We classify Cassia as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,096 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cassia most popular?
The single biggest year for Cassia was 2024, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cassia is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cassia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cassia 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.