Cesar
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Meaning
an unaccented form of César, from the Roman family name Caesar, whose original meaning is uncertain
Also written César.
The story
Cesar is the unaccented form of César, used in Spanish and Portuguese and also in French. It comes from Caesar, a Roman family name whose earlier meaning is uncertain. A connection with Latin caesaries, "hair," has been proposed, but "long-haired" is not a settled translation.
The later history of Caesar is clearer. The family name associated with Julius Caesar and then Augustus became a title used by Roman emperors. Over time, it also gave rise to German Kaiser and Russian tsar, words for rulers.
In California, César Chávez, Dolores Huerta and other organizers founded the National Farm Workers Association to organize agricultural workers. When Filipino farmworkers began the Delano grape strike in 1965, Chávez’s predominantly Mexican American association joined them. The wider organizing campaign and boycott helped win contracts in 1970 that improved pay and conditions, including access to drinking water and toilets.
On record since at least the 16th century: César de Bus, founder of the Doctrinaires.
How popular is Cesar around the world?
In the United States, 5,250 babies were named Cesar between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 195 registrations of Cesar in 2022.
Cesar is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Spain, Brazil, Chile, Montevideo, Argentina, Canada, Austria, Poland and France.
Cesar crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 4,200
In the United States, 5,250 babies were named Cesar between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cesar peaked in the 2000s. Cesar went to 1,306 US babies in 2015 and 824 in 2025, 63% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 600
In Mexico City, there were 195 registrations of Cesar in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (6 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 1,100
In Spain, 42,697 residents are named Cesar, the 87th most common name among men, with a mean age of 43.7 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 1,800
At the 2022 census, 109,794 people in Brazil were named Cesar, the 300th most common name, with a median age of 40.
Among people named Cesar living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,972 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Chile
1 in 2,100
In Chile, 85 boys were registered as Cesar in 2021, every accent spelling counted together, most often written César.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
1 in 2,5002011
In Montevideo, 10 boys named Cesar were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Argentina
1 in 3,200
In Argentina, 204 newborns were given the name Cesar in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Canada
1 in 30,000
In Canada, 12 boys named Cesar were born in 2024, ranked 1,698th 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)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Cesar was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 boys named Cesar were born in 2025, the 705th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 boys named Cesar were born in 2025, ranked 3,294th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Cesar, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
last on record 2023
Cesar is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Puerto Rico
last on record 2024
Cesar is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 821 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
South Australia
last on record 2010
Cesar 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 Ireland, New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
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 Cesar
Most people given the name Cesar in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
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The Cesar deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cesar 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 Cesar fits with your family’s names and surname.
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