Unisex name · since 1987
Cailen
Cailen has 251 recorded births since 1987 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2007 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #11,632 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,018 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 251
- born since 1987
- 2000s
- peak decade
251 babies have been named Cailen since 1987, making it today's #10018 unisex name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cailen has been recorded 251 times among boys since 1987, currently ranked #10018 nationally and more common than 28% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 2000s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1987 to 2025.
- #11,632 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #10,018 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 251 born since 1987
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cailen ranks #11,632 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,018 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 251 born since 1987, peaking in the 2000s.
- #11,632 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,018 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 251
- born since 1987
- 2000s
- peak decade
Cailen's 251 recorded births place it above 74.37% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Cailen compares
251 42nd percentile among 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Cailen's all-time total is 32% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Cailen | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 251 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 17 | 34 | 22,252 |
Cailen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Cailen's SSA record in two at 2008 and the more recent half accounts for 55% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 45%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1987, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2007 peak of 17, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Cailen popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1987–2025
- Peak year (2007)
- 17
- Annual births at peak, across 39 years of records
Cailen popularity over time - girls
197 total births recorded since 1982 (Cailen as girls' name)
Cailen by decade
2000s is the heaviest window (98 births, 39% of the file).
2000s was Cailen's strongest decade.
98 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 39% of all-time use.
Cailen births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s 5
1980s
5 births
- 1990s 35
1990s
35 births
- 2000s
2000s
98 births
- 2010s
2010s
91 births
- 2020s 22
2020s
22 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 98 births (39% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where does Cailen sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Cailen most popular? ▼
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What to do with Cailen's data
- Cailen's decade-level peak was the 2000s (98 total births); usage has since declined to 22 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Cailen
Nearby Names Like Cailen
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cailen
Compare Cailen side by side: Cailen vs Caiden Cailen vs Cairo Cailen vs Cain
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Cailen
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cailen: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2007)
Similar record span (~38 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1987–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Cailen draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.