2000
#95,091
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 178
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Caby
A surname potentially derived from the French word "cabus" referring to someone with a large, round head.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 224 Americans carry the last name Caby. That puts it at #99,304 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,530,153 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Caby surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
224
1 in 1,530,153
Census rank
#99,304
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
195
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 195 bearers of the surname Caby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 99304th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Caby, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Caby
The surname CABY has its origins in France, dating back to the early medieval period. It is believed to be derived from a French place name, possibly a town or village called Cabiac or Cabières. These place names themselves stem from the Latin word "caballa," meaning "herd" or "flock," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who worked as a herder or lived near a pasture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name CABY can be found in the Livre des Bourgeois de Gand, a register of citizens in the city of Ghent, Belgium, from the 13th century. An entry from 1279 mentions a certain "Jehan Caby," indicating that the name was already in use at that time.
In the 14th century, the name appears in several records from the region of Normandy, France. A document from 1312 refers to a "Guillot Caby" from the town of Rouen, while another record from 1387 mentions a "Jean Caby" from the village of Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf.
During the 15th century, the name CABY gained prominence in the region of Champagne, France. A notable figure from this period was Philippe Caby, a merchant and landowner who lived in the city of Troyes around 1450. His descendants continued to use the surname in the following centuries.
The 16th century saw the spread of the CABY name to other parts of France, as well as to neighboring regions. One example is Jean Caby, a French physician who lived in the city of Antwerp, in modern-day Belgium, around 1560.
In the 17th century, a branch of the CABY family settled in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti). One of the earliest recorded members of this branch was François Caby, who was born in 1632 and worked as a plantation owner on the island.
Throughout history, there have been several other notable individuals who bore the surname CABY, including:
1. Jacques Caby (1603-1672), a French poet and playwright from Paris.
2. Marie Caby (1745-1818), a French actress and opera singer who performed in Paris and other European cities.
3. Émile Caby (1835-1917), a French painter and illustrator known for his depictions of historical scenes.
4. Louis Caby (1889-1963), a French politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies for the department of Marne.
5. René Caby (1905-1992), a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris and other cities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caby
Among Census respondents with the surname Caby, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Caby bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Caby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.5% · 153
- Black or African American10.8% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 11
- Two or more races4.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Caby
Caby appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#109,258
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 162
-16 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 14,167 places
2020
#99,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 195
+33 bearers (+20.4%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 9,954 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #95,091 | 178 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #109,258 | 162 | 0.05 | -16 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 14,167 places |
| 2020 | #99,304 | 195 | 0.07 | +33 bearers (+20.4%) | Up 9,954 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Caby surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #109,258 | #99,304 | 9.1% |
| Count | 162 | 195 | 20.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.07 | 30.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Caby bearers went from 162 to 195 (+20.4% change). The surname moved up 9,954 positions in the national ranking, going from #109,258 to #99,304.
FAQ
Caby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Caby?
Name Census estimates that about 224 living Americans carry the surname Caby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,530,153 residents.
How common is Caby?
Caby ranks #99,304 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 195 people with the surname Caby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (224), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Caby.
Has Caby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Caby went from 162 recorded bearers to 195. That is an increase of 33 (+20.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #109,258 to #99,304.
What does the Census say about the background of Caby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Caby, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Hispanic (5.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Caby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.5% (153 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Caby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.5%), Black (10.8%), Hispanic (5.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Caby (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Caby mean?
A surname potentially derived from the French word "cabus" referring to someone with a large, round head. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Caby (0.07 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Caby?
Want to know how many people have the last name Caby? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.