Kadeem
Of Arabic origin, meaning "pioneer" or "the one who precedes."
Name Census estimates that about 2,557 living Americans carry the first name Kadeem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kadeem today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kadeem births was 1991 (391 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kadeem. 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
2.6K
~ 1 in 134,045 Americans
Peak year
1991
391 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,477
Tracked since 1988
Popularity
Kadeem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kadeem from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,774 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kadeem 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 Kadeem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kadeems live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. New York, Florida, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Kadeem, while Connecticut, Missouri, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 80 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kadeem
The name Kadeem has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "qadim," which means "ancient" or "old." The name was likely given to children in the Arab world during the medieval period, as a reference to the region's rich history and heritage.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Kadeem can be found in the writings of Arab scholars and historians from the 9th and 10th centuries CE. These scholars often used the term "qadim" to describe ancient civilizations, artifacts, and texts that predated the Islamic era.
In the Islamic tradition, the name Kadeem may have been inspired by the concept of "al-Qadim," which is one of the 99 names of Allah in the Quran. This name translates to "The Eternal" or "The Ever-Existing," and is often used to emphasize the timelessness and eternity of the divine.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kadeem. One of the earliest was Kadeem al-Qadi (920-992 CE), a renowned Arab mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad. His contributions to the fields of algebra, trigonometry, and the study of celestial bodies were significant in the advancement of Islamic science during the Golden Age.
Another prominent figure was Kadeem al-Khwarizmi (780-850 CE), a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and scholar who lived during the Abbasid Caliphate. He is credited with introducing the use of the decimal positional number system and the concept of algebra to the Arab world, which had a profound impact on the development of mathematics in the Islamic world and beyond.
In the literary realm, Kadeem al-Isfahani (897-967 CE) was a celebrated Arab poet and scholar from Isfahan, Persia. His works, which included poetry, philology, and literary criticism, were widely influential in the Arab world and helped shape the development of Arabic literature.
During the Ottoman Empire, Kadeem Pasha (1530-1598) was a prominent military leader and statesman who served as the Grand Vizier (prime minister) of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad III. He was renowned for his strategic military campaigns and his efforts to modernize and strengthen the Ottoman Empire.
More recently, Kadeem Hardison (born 1965) is an American actor best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne in the television series "A Different World." He has also appeared in various films and television shows throughout his career, showcasing his talent and versatility as a performer.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Kadeem
People
Kadeem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kadeem as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kadeem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kadeem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,557 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kadeem 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 134,045 US residents.
Is Kadeem a common name?
We classify Kadeem as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,620 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kadeem most popular?
The single biggest year for Kadeem was 1991, when 391 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kadeem is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kadeem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kadeem 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.
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.