Candace
Candace was given to 50 girls in 2025, #3,173 among girls’ names; 85,097 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 75,900 Americans named Candace and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (89% of everyone recorded); the median is 46 years old and half are between 38 and 61.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Candace by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Candace mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Candace is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
From Latin Candacē, from Ancient Greek Κανδάκη (Kandákē), from Meroitic 𐦲𐦷𐦲𐦡 (kdke /kandakə/), a hereditary title of ancient queens of Napata (northern Sudan).
/ˈkæn.dɪs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Candace?
#3,173 among girls’ names, 2025
Candace fell from #2,104 in 2015 to #3,173 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 51.5 to 31.1 per million.
2,859 babies in 1982, the peak
Candace peaked in 1982, when 2,859 babies were given it (2,848 girls, #103 among girls’ names). The 50 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 50 | #3,173 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 42 | #3,655 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 54 | #3,051 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 66 | #2,640 | 0.04 |
| 2021 | 64 | #2,684 | 0.04 |
| 2020 | 69 | #2,506 | 0.04 |
| 2019 | 60 | #2,788 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 64 | #2,692 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 77 | #2,363 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 101 | #1,975 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (129)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 92 | #2,104 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 121 | #1,730 | 0.07 |
| 2013 | 99 | #1,978 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 101 | #1,942 | 0.06 |
| 2011 | 141 | #1,556 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 133 | #1,624 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 198 | #1,246 | 0.11 |
| 2008 | 217 | #1,180 | 0.11 |
| 2007 | 254 | #1,038 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 249 | #1,028 | 0.13 |
| 2005 | 269 | #926 | 0.15 |
| 2004 | 307 | #817 | 0.17 |
| 2003 | 341 | #745 | 0.19 |
| 2002 | 330 | #739 | 0.18 |
| 2001 | 339 | #720 | 0.19 |
| 2000 | 421 | #600 | 0.23 |
| 1999 | 465 | #542 | 0.26 |
| 1998 | 535 | #480 | 0.30 |
| 1997 | 625 | #418 | 0.36 |
| 1996 | 760 | #362 | 0.43 |
| 1995 | 967 | #288 | 0.55 |
| 1994 | 1,100 | #254 | 0.62 |
| 1993 | 1,309 | #215 | 0.72 |
| 1992 | 1,661 | #186 | 0.90 |
| 1991 | 1,936 | #153 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | 2,162 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1989 | 2,270 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1988 | 2,421 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1987 | 2,329 | #120 | 1.3 |
| 1986 | 2,459 | #114 | 1.4 |
| 1985 | 2,707 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1984 | 2,668 | #102 | 1.6 |
| 1983 | 2,698 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1982 | 2,848 | #103 | 1.7 |
| 1981 | 2,581 | #118 | 1.5 |
| 1980 | 2,187 | #134 | 1.3 |
| 1979 | 1,594 | #173 | 1.0 |
| 1978 | 1,326 | #196 | 0.87 |
| 1977 | 1,140 | #217 | 0.74 |
| 1976 | 1,211 | #201 | 0.83 |
| 1975 | 1,123 | #221 | 0.77 |
| 1974 | 1,155 | #223 | 0.79 |
| 1973 | 1,132 | #223 | 0.78 |
| 1972 | 1,254 | #223 | 0.82 |
| 1971 | 1,308 | #226 | 0.79 |
| 1970 | 1,427 | #220 | 0.82 |
| 1969 | 1,298 | #234 | 0.77 |
| 1968 | 1,179 | #237 | 0.72 |
| 1967 | 1,118 | #250 | 0.68 |
| 1966 | 1,220 | #239 | 0.72 |
| 1965 | 969 | #279 | 0.55 |
| 1964 | 837 | #327 | 0.44 |
| 1963 | 863 | #318 | 0.45 |
| 1962 | 803 | #329 | 0.41 |
| 1961 | 742 | #349 | 0.37 |
| 1960 | 843 | #325 | 0.42 |
| 1959 | 907 | #304 | 0.45 |
| 1958 | 846 | #317 | 0.42 |
| 1957 | 1,156 | #252 | 0.57 |
| 1956 | 1,404 | #216 | 0.70 |
| 1955 | 1,413 | #214 | 0.72 |
| 1954 | 1,555 | #198 | 0.80 |
| 1953 | 1,753 | #180 | 0.93 |
| 1952 | 1,835 | #171 | 1.0 |
| 1951 | 1,734 | #173 | 1.0 |
| 1950 | 1,648 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 1949 | 1,589 | #174 | 0.93 |
| 1948 | 1,446 | #190 | 0.85 |
| 1947 | 1,317 | #204 | 0.74 |
| 1946 | 1,001 | #227 | 0.64 |
| 1945 | 632 | #274 | 0.48 |
| 1944 | 307 | #410 | 0.23 |
| 1943 | 233 | #484 | 0.17 |
| 1942 | 129 | #658 | 0.10 |
| 1941 | 30 | #1,421 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 31 | #1,353 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 26 | #1,476 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 20 | #1,760 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 19 | #1,794 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 14 | #2,167 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 11 | #2,598 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 6 | #3,872 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 19 | #1,789 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 14 | #2,249 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 10 | #2,780 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 7 | #3,702 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 17 | #2,018 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 8 | #3,466 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 16 | #2,270 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 11 | #2,895 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 14 | #2,502 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 11 | #2,996 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 16 | #2,275 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 15 | #2,403 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 9 | #3,446 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 18 | #2,083 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 17 | #2,078 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 14 | #2,398 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 17 | #2,009 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 19 | #1,814 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 5 | #4,373 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 5 | #3,695 | 0.01 |
| 1913 | 12 | #1,789 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 12 | #1,631 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,518 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 6 | #2,181 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,794 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,626 | 0.02 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,713 | 0.02 |
| 1900 | 9 | #1,334 | 0.03 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,636 | 0.02 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,405 | 0.03 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,445 | 0.03 |
| 1894 | 13 | #858 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 6 | #1,232 | 0.03 |
| 1888 | 6 | #1,155 | 0.03 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,049 | 0.04 |
| 1884 | 7 | #866 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 8 | #685 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Candace a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Candace has been given almost only to girls: 159 boys in 129 years of records.
Girls and boys named Candace: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Candace, and how old are they?
75,900 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 89% of the 85,097 Americans ever recorded as Candace. The median Candace alive today is 46 years old; half are between 38 and 61.
The 2020 Census counted 73,527 people named Candace (73,461 women and girls, 66 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 78,227 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 786 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 18,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 19,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 32,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,870 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 953 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Candace born?
The states with the most babies named Candace are California, Texas and Ohio, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 8,166 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Texas | 5,949 | #3,386 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 4,174 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 4,161 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| New York | 4,161 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 3,442 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 3,294 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Florida | 3,186 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 3,160 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Georgia | 2,912 | not ranked | 1.3× |
Where Candace is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Candace is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Candace with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 170,918 babies since 1880, Candace is the most given (50% of them). In 2025 it was given to 50 of their 82 babies (61%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Candace
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Candace and names like it
- Compare Candace and CandiceBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sCandace peaked in 1982.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Candace since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Candace: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1982The year the most babies were named Candace.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Candace alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with CMost given first.