2000
#3,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,745
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.24
Rare Last name
Cady
Derived from the French surname Cadeiz, likely referring to someone from the town of Cadiz in southern Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,642 Americans carry the last name Cady. That puts it at #4,093 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,548 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cady 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Cady with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,548
Census rank
#4,093
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,408 bearers of the surname Cady in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4093rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cady
The surname Cady is of French origin, deriving from the Old French word "cade," which means "barrel" or "cask." It is believed to have originated in the region of Normandy, France, during the medieval period.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the early 12th century. It is found in medieval records, such as the Domesday Book, which was commissioned in 1086 by King William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions a family with the surname Cady residing in the village of Cadney, Lincolnshire, England.
The name Cady is also believed to have derived from various place names, such as Cadys, a small village in Normandy, France, or Cadix, an old spelling of the Spanish city Cadiz. This suggests that the name may have been adopted by individuals who hailed from these locations or resided near them.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the surname Cady was Robert Cady, a Norman nobleman who lived in the 12th century. He is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Normandy, which were administrative records kept by the English Crown.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named William Cady was a member of the English gentry and served as a knight in the service of King Edward I. He is recorded as having participated in the Welsh Wars and the Scottish Wars of Independence.
During the 16th century, the Cady family established themselves in the county of Somerset, England. John Cady, born in 1542, was a prominent landowner and held the position of High Sheriff of Somerset in 1589.
Another significant figure was Samuel Cady, born in 1619 in Wethersfield, Essex, England. He later emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s and became one of the founders of the town of Groton, Connecticut.
In the 18th century, Jeremiah Cady, born in 1727 in Connecticut, was a distinguished American lawyer and politician. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was a strong advocate for American independence during the Revolutionary War.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cady
Among Census respondents with the surname Cady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Cady 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 Cady surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 7,575
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 314
- Two or more races3.0% · 252
- Black or African American1.9% · 157
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cady
Cady 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
#3,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,084
+339 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 3.08
Rank movement Down 186 places
2020
#4,093
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,408
-676 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 2.81
Rank movement Down 183 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,724 | 8,745 | 3.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,910 | 9,084 | 3.08 | +339 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 186 places |
| 2020 | #4,093 | 8,408 | 2.81 | -676 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 183 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 Cady 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 | #3,910 | #4,093 | -4.7% |
| Count | 9,084 | 8,408 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.08 | 2.81 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cady bearers went from 9,084 to 8,408 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 183 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,910 to #4,093.
FAQ
Cady surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cady?
Name Census estimates that about 9,642 living Americans carry the surname Cady. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,548 residents.
How common is Cady?
Cady ranks #4,093 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,408 people with the surname Cady. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,642), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Cady.
Has Cady become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cady went from 9,084 recorded bearers to 8,408. That is a decrease of 676 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,910 to #4,093.
What does the Census say about the background of Cady?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Cady in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (7,575 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cady appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Cady (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 Cady mean?
Derived from the French surname Cadeiz, likely referring to someone from the town of Cadiz in southern Spain. 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 Cady (2.81 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 Cady?
If you just want to know how common the surname Cady is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.