Cassius
Meaning
“Roman family name, traditionally linked to Latin cassus, 'empty, vain'”
The story
Cassius is a Roman family name, possibly from the Latin cassus, "empty, vain," a meaning its recorded bearers cheerfully ignored. Rome's Cassius helped lead the plot against Julius Caesar; a 3rd-century historian and several early saints carried it too. The American story runs through one man: Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in 1942, named for his father, who was named for the abolitionist Cassius Clay, three bearers deep before the name ever reached a boxing ring. The register kept Cassius rare for decades, 112 in the 1920s, then 309 in the 1960s, just as Cassius Clay was filling the sports pages, and we will let the reader weigh that timing. The real climb is recent: 419 in the 1990s, 1,225 in the 2000s, 3,635 in the 2010s, and 3,279 so far this decade. A name that spent a century as a reference and became a first choice.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cassius peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,287 people · the #6,985 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 166,667 · median age 41
Among people named Cassius living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Cassius
Most people given the name Cassius 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.
The Cassius deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cassius 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 Cassius fits with your family’s names and surname.
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