Cindy
Diminutive of Cynthia, derived from Greek mythology meaning "from Mount Cynthus".
Name Census estimates that about 209,904 living Americans carry the first name Cindy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cindy today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cindy births was 1957 (20,307 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cindy. 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
- • Although Cindy is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 771 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Cindy have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
210K
~ 1 in 1,633 Americans
Peak year
1957
20,307 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2001 SSA rank
#1,661
Tracked since 1886
Gender
Gender distribution for Cindy
Out of the 257,965 babies given the name Cindy since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Cindy as a male name
- Ranked #10,863 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1957 (35 births)
Cindy as a female name
- Ranked #1,661 in 2024
- 123 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1957 (20,272 births)
Popularity
Cindy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cindy from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 91,807 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cindy 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 Cindy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cindys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Cindy, while Delaware, Alaska, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 4,991 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cindy
The name Cindy is a diminutive form of the feminine name Cynthia, which has its origins in Greek mythology. Cynthia was an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, who was associated with the moon and was born on Mount Cynthus on the island of Delos.
The name Cynthia is derived from the Greek word "Kynthos," which was an alternative name for the island of Delos. It is believed that the name was first used as a poetic reference to the moon goddess Artemis in ancient Greek literature.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Cynthia can be found in the works of the Roman poet Propertius, who lived in the 1st century BC. He wrote a collection of elegies dedicated to his lover, whom he referred to as Cynthia.
The diminutive form Cindy emerged as a shortened version of Cynthia in the 20th century, particularly in the United States. It gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s, becoming a common name for girls born during that time.
Notable historical figures with the name Cindy include Cindy Williams (born 1947), an American actress best known for her role as Shirley Feeney in the television series "Laverne & Shirley." Cindy Margolis (born 1975) is an American model and actress who was once dubbed the "Queen of the Internet."
In literature, Cindy is the name of the central character in the classic fairy tale "Cinderella." Although the name Cinderella is derived from different roots, the shortened form Cindy has become associated with this beloved fictional character.
Other notable historical figures with the name Cindy include Cindy Sherman (born 1954), an American artist known for her conceptual portraits, and Cindy Crawford (born 1966), an American model and actress who was one of the most popular supermodels of the 1990s.
Overall, the name Cindy has its roots in Greek mythology and gained popularity as a diminutive form of Cynthia in the 20th century, particularly in the United States. It has been borne by various notable figures throughout history, spanning various fields such as acting, modeling, and literature.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Cindy
People
Cindy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cindy 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
Cindy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cindy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 209,904 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cindy 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 1,633 US residents.
Is Cindy a common name?
We classify Cindy as "Common". It ranks above 99.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 257,965 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cindy most popular?
The single biggest year for Cindy was 1957, when 20,307 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cindy is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cindy a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Cindy 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.