Candace
Meaning
traditional royal title of ancient Nubian queens
The story
Candace began as a title, not a name: Kandake, the hereditary title of the queen mothers who ruled the ancient kingdom of Kush, along the Nile in what is now Sudan. The Book of Acts mentions one such queen, which carried the word into Bibles and, centuries later, into English use as a given name. In America it kept a quiet presence through the early twentieth century, gathered momentum after mid-century, and reached its peak in the 1980s before gently receding. Its most decorated modern bearer is Candace Parker, the basketball star who won two league Most Valuable Player awards and became the first WNBA player to win championships with three different franchises, a fittingly regal resume for a name that literally meant queen mother. Today Candace is past its fashionable moment, familiar to every generation but given to few, which lends it a certain settled, royal calm.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Candace peaked in the 1980s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
29 people · the #96,655 first name in Brazil · median age 32
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Candace
People given the name Candace in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Candace deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Candace 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 Candace fits with your family’s names and surname.
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