Camden
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Meaning
from an English place name and surname; meaning uncertain
The story
On William Camden’s Westminster Abbey monument, his left hand rests on Britannia and his right holds a pair of gloves. The book commemorates work he fitted around the school calendar. As a teacher at Westminster School, first Second Master and later Head Master, he spent holidays travelling to collect antiquarian and topographical information. Britannia, his description of Britain and Ireland, appeared in 1586. The place-name later traveled onto a Baltimore map: Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992. Camden itself comes to given-name use through an English surname drawn from a place name, with an uncertain meaning. For a surname bearer devoted to describing places, that geographical beginning offers an apt association without supplying a neat translation. The book beneath his hand is the tangible result: school holidays turned into a description of places beyond the classroom.
How popular is Camden around the world?
In the United States, 12,938 babies were named Camden between 2020 and 2025.
Camden is on the official records of the United States, Canada, South Australia and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 1,700
In the United States, 12,938 babies were named Camden between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Camden peaked in the 2010s. Camden went to 3,909 US babies in 2015 and 1,873 in 2025, 48% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 7,800
In Canada, 40 boys named Camden were born in 2024, the 679th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 boys were registered as Camden in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 31,000
In England and Wales, 19 boys named Camden were born in 2025, ranked 1,406th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
last on record 2013
Camden is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
last on record 2022
Camden is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Camden
Most people given the name Camden in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Camden · Names that go with Camden · Middle names for Camden · Climbers and fallers
The Camden deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Camden truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Camden fits with your family’s names and surname.
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