Cass
Torn between Cass and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
short form used for Cassandra, Cassidy, Cassia, and other Cass- names
The story
Cass is an English short form rather than one name with one fixed root. It can stand for Cassandra, Cassidy, Cassia, or another name beginning with Cass, and some people use Cass as the complete name. The spelling alone cannot reveal which longer form, if any, belongs to a particular bearer. Its exact US curve is tiny, so there is little American popularity history to narrate. The verified story is compact but useful: Cass connects several longer-name families without requiring any one of them.
The formal names behind Cass
Cass is an established short form of each of these names.
Cassandra · Greek origin · possibly Greek kekasmai "to excel, to surpass" with aner "man"; the Trojan prophetess
Cassidy · Irish origin · surname Ó Caiside, traditionally "curly-haired"
How popular is Cass around the world?
In the United States, 134 babies were named Cass between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 3 boys named Cass were registered in 2024, the 727th most common name among boys that year.
Cass is on the official records of the United States, Scotland and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 160,000
In the United States, 134 babies were named Cass between 2020 and 2025.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 boys named Cass were registered in 2024, the 727th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 6 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
England and Wales
1 in 20,000
In England and Wales, 29 boys named Cass were born in 2025, ranked 1,035th 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
Canada
last on record 1995
Cass is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Ireland
last on record 2024
Cass 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
South Australia
last on record 1987
Cass is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 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
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 Cass
People given the name Cass in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 2019. 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.
Keep exploring
Cantonese and Hong Kong baby names · Short names · What is Cass short for?
The Cass deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cass 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 Cass fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Cass fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Cass to your family’s tree →