2000
#7,073
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,362
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.62
Rare Last name
Cassady
An Anglicized form of an Irish surname, Ó Caiside, meaning "descendant of Caiside," a personal name of unknown meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,833 Americans carry the last name Cassady. That puts it at #7,592 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.41 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 70,920 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cassady 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 Cassady with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.8K
1 in 70,920
Census rank
#7,592
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,215 bearers of the surname Cassady in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.41 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7592nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cassady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cassady
The surname Cassady has its origins in Ireland, where it emerged as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Ó Caiside" or "Ó Casaidhe". This name is thought to be derived from the Irish word "casadh", which means "twist" or "turn", possibly referring to a physical characteristic or occupation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history written in the early 17th century. The annals mention a family called "Ó Caiside" from County Fermanagh in Ulster.
The Cassady surname is also associated with the Cassidy clan, a prominent family from County Fermanagh and County Donegal. In the 16th century, the Cassidys were among the most powerful clans in Ulster, holding significant lands and influence in the region.
In the 17th century, during the Plantation of Ulster, many Irish families, including the Cassadys, were dispossessed of their lands by English and Scottish settlers. This led to the spread of the surname throughout Ireland and beyond as families sought new opportunities.
One notable individual with the surname Cassady was Neal Cassady (1926-1968), an American writer and iconic figure of the Beat Generation. He was immortalized in Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road" as the character Dean Moriarty.
Another well-known Cassady was Robert Cassady (1923-2013), an American baseball player who played in the Major Leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
In literature, the character of Frankie Cassady appears in the novel "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1902-1968). Frankie Cassady is a young boy who befriends the Joad family during their journey to California.
The Cassady surname can also be found in historical records from County Fermanagh, such as the Hearth Money Rolls of the 1660s, which list several households with variations of the name, including Cassidy, Cassedy, and Cassady.
Lastly, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Cassady spelling can be found in the register of the Church of Ireland Parish of Devenish, County Fermanagh, where a burial record from 1695 mentions a "Cassady" family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cassady
Among Census respondents with the surname Cassady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cassady 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 Cassady surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 3,806
- Two or more races4.6% · 195
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 101
- Black or African American1.4% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cassady
Cassady 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
#7,369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,519
+157 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.53
Rank movement Down 296 places
2020
#7,592
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,215
-304 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Down 223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,073 | 4,362 | 1.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,369 | 4,519 | 1.53 | +157 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 296 places |
| 2020 | #7,592 | 4,215 | 1.41 | -304 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 223 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 Cassady 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 | #7,369 | #7,592 | -3.0% |
| Count | 4,519 | 4,215 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.53 | 1.41 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cassady bearers went from 4,519 to 4,215 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 223 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,369 to #7,592.
FAQ
Cassady surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cassady?
Name Census estimates that about 4,833 living Americans carry the surname Cassady. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 70,920 residents.
How common is Cassady?
Cassady ranks #7,592 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.41 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,215 people with the surname Cassady. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,833), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.41 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.41 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cassady.
Has Cassady become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cassady went from 4,519 recorded bearers to 4,215. That is a decrease of 304 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,369 to #7,592.
What does the Census say about the background of Cassady?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cassady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Cassady in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (3,806 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cassady appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Cassady (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 Cassady mean?
An Anglicized form of an Irish surname, Ó Caiside, meaning "descendant of Caiside," a personal name of unknown meaning. 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 Cassady (1.41 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 many people have the surname Cassady?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.