Cassidy

Gender: Mostly Girl

Meaning: Curly-haired, clever

Origin: Irish

Popularity: Ranked #541 in 2025 with 558 babies born.

History: Cassidy entered American consciousness not through traditional baby-naming conventions, but through the mythology of the American West and counterculture. The name gained traction in the 1960s and 70s, drawing from outlaw legend Butch Cassidy and the Grateful Dead's 1969 song 'Cassidy,' written to honor Beat generation icon Neal Cassady. These cultural touchstones positioned Cassidy as a name for rebels and dreamers—charming, doomed, unforgettable. The name remained relatively uncommon through the 1970s and 80s, but the 1990s brought explosive growth. By 1999, Cassidy peaked at 3,395 babies born with the name, marking American parents' embrace of this once-marginal choice. The name reached its best ranking of #99 overall, driven largely by girls given the name—60,837 girls versus 3,735 boys have been named Cassidy since 1968. This dramatic gender skew reflects a broader trend of traditionally masculine or unisex names becoming feminized in contemporary American naming culture. At its height in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Cassidy felt modern, spirited, and subtly literary. However, like many names that peak early in the internet era, Cassidy has declined sharply. Today it ranks #2572, with only 51 babies named Cassidy in 2025—a stunning reversal that suggests the name has exhausted its cultural moment and returned to relative obscurity.

Nicknames: Cass, Cassie, Cassy, Sid, CC

Personality vibes: independent, spirited, literary, rebellious, charming

Sibling name pairings: Harper, Riley, Dakota, Morgan, Skylar, Quinn, Avery

Middle name ideas: Cassidy Rose, Cassidy Mae, Cassidy James, Cassidy Grace, Cassidy Kate, Cassidy Leigh, Cassidy Ann

Famous people named Cassidy:

• Cassidy Freeman — American actress known for Smallville and The Newsroom.
• Butch Cassidy — Legendary American outlaw whose name inspired the modern given name.
• Neal Cassady — Beat generation icon honored in the Grateful Dead's song Cassidy.
• Cassidy Hubbarth — Sports broadcaster and ESPN anchor known for NBA coverage.

Cassidy in America Today

Cassidy carries the weight of its peak-era popularity. For anyone born in the late 1990s or early 2000s, the name feels ubiquitous—a marker of a specific generational cohort. Today, parents naming children Cassidy are swimming against the current; the name feels dated rather than fresh, associated with a previous cycle of American naming taste. Among Gen Z and younger Millennials, Cassidy reads as distinctly 'that time,' much like Madison or Brittany. The name's dramatic 99-to-2572 ranking decline signals its fade from mainstream consideration. However, this obscurity carries its own appeal. For some contemporary parents, Cassidy represents a genuine historical or literary reference—a nod to American outlaw mythology or counterculture—rather than a trendy choice. The gender dynamic remains predominantly female; Cassidy as a girl's name is far more established than as a boy's name. In modern American contexts, Cassidy appeals to parents seeking something with narrative weight and historical rootedness, though the name's cultural moment has clearly passed.

Naming Trends

Cassidy's arc tells a story of rapid American adoption and equally rapid retreat. First appearing in official records in 1968, the name grew slowly through the 1970s and 80s, when it remained rare and distinctly countercultural. The 1990s brought explosive growth, culminating in 1999 when 3,395 babies were named Cassidy—a stunning jump that reflected broader trends toward unisex, surname-style names with literary or historical associations. The early 2000s sustained this popularity, with the name ranking as high as #99 overall. However, the 2010s marked a turning point. As Cassidy became less novel and more obviously dated, parents moved toward fresher alternatives. The 2020s have seen a steep decline, with only 51 babies named Cassidy in 2025. Across its full record, 64,572 Americans have been named Cassidy—an impressive total, but one concentrated in a single two-decade window. This pattern mirrors other names that peaked in the 90s-2000s and subsequently lost appeal. Cassidy's story reflects how American naming cycles can be rapid and dramatic, driven by cultural moments and media influence rather than gradual, multigenerational adoption.

Cultural Notes

Cassidy exists in American culture as a name laden with mythology rather than everyday familiarity. Butch Cassidy, immortalized in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, provided the name's primary cultural anchor—an outlaw whose charm and doomed romanticism aligned with American Western mythology and the countercultural moment of the 1960s. That same year, the Grateful Dead released 'Cassidy,' a song honoring Neal Cassady, the Beat generation writer and muse. This dual literary and outlaw pedigree gave the name intellectual and rebellious credibility, positioning it as a choice for parents drawn to American alternative culture. In contemporary media, Cassidy appears occasionally but without major cultural weight; the name is recognizable but not iconic. The name's feminization in American usage—overwhelmingly given to girls—diverges from its outlaw origins, reflecting broader patterns of gender-neutralizing traditionally masculine names. For parents, invoking Cassidy today typically signals cultural literacy and historical awareness rather than trendy appeal. The name has moved from fashionable to retro to, increasingly, quaint—a marker of late-1990s American taste that appeals mainly to those seeking explicit historical or literary resonance.

Name length: 7 letters

How common is Cassidy? About 1 in 5,466 babies born in 2025 were named Cassidy, or roughly 1.7 per day in the United States.

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