Caz
A short form of the name Casey, derived from the Irish surname meaning "brave in battle".
Name Census estimates that about 153 living Americans carry the first name Caz. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Caz today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caz births was 2019 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caz. 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
153
~ 1 in 2,240,224 Americans
Peak year
2019
15 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2023 SSA rank
#7,361
Tracked since 1989
Census
Caz in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 215 people with the first name Caz, which placed it at #36,733 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
#36,733
National first-name rank
People counted
215
215 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caz
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caz is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Hispanic (9.8%). 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 Caz 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 Caz at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 138
- Black or African American12.6% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino9.8% · 21
- Two or more races7.9% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Caz: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caz from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 57 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Caz remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caz 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 Caz 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 Caz
The name Caz originated from the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in the regions of modern-day Spain and Portugal, during the late Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Latin name Cassius, which itself has roots in the ancient Roman family name Cassia. Cassius was a prominent Roman name, with several notable historical figures bearing it, including the Roman jurist Cassius Longinus and the philosopher Cassius Dio.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caz can be found in the 14th century, when it was used as a shortened form of the Spanish name Cazador, meaning "hunter" or "pursuer." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals involved in hunting or tracking activities.
In the 15th century, the name Caz gained prominence in Portugal, where it was often used as a diminutive form of the name Caetano, which has its origins in the Latin name Caietanus. Caetano was the name of a prominent Roman family, and it was later adopted as a Christian name in honor of St. Cajetan, a 16th-century Italian Catholic priest and founder of the Theatine Order.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Caz was Caz Hidalgo (c. 1450-1520), a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage to the Americas in 1502. Hidalgo played a crucial role in the exploration and mapping of the Caribbean islands.
Another notable figure was Caz Velasquez (1495-1560), a Portuguese navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the Indian Ocean and the East Indies. He was among the first Europeans to establish trade relations with the Sultanate of Aceh in present-day Indonesia.
In the 17th century, Caz Fernandes (1620-1688) was a Portuguese painter and engraver known for his religious works and portraits. He was a prominent figure in the Baroque art movement in Portugal.
During the 18th century, Caz Almeida (1725-1805) was a notable Brazilian writer and philosopher. He was a key figure in the Brazilian Enlightenment movement and advocated for the abolition of slavery and the promotion of education.
In the 19th century, Caz Gomes (1845-1920) was a renowned Portuguese architect and urban planner. He was responsible for designing several iconic buildings and public spaces in Lisbon, including the Avenida da Liberdade and the Praça do Comércio.
Throughout its history, the name Caz has maintained a strong connection to its Iberian roots, with a rich tapestry of notable individuals who have contributed to various fields, including exploration, art, literature, and architecture.
People
Caz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caz 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
Caz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 153 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caz 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 2,240,224 US residents.
Is Caz a common name?
We classify Caz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 155 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caz most popular?
The single biggest year for Caz was 2019, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caz is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caz in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 215 people with the name Caz, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,733 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 Caz 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 Caz?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caz leans strongly male. 198 people counted with this name were male (89.2%), compared with 24 female bearers (10.8%). 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 Caz?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caz is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Hispanic (9.8%). 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 Caz most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (138 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 Caz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caz a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caz 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 Caz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caz 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 Caz 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 are called Caz?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.