Candida
Candida was last recorded in 2017, when 6 babies were given it; 3,580 Americans have been recorded with it between 1900 and 2017 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,840 Americans named Candida and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (79% of everyone recorded); the median is 51 years old and half are between 44 and 56.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Candida by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Candida mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Candida is “a female given name from Spanish [in turn from Latin].” Its etymology gives the sense “shining white” (candidus).
From Spanish Cándida, Candida, from Latin Candida, from candida, feminine of candidus (“shining white”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Candida?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #14,480, in 2017; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
222 babies in 1971, the peak
Candida peaked in 1971, when 222 girls were given it, #686 among girls’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 6 | #14,480 | under 0.01 |
| 2015 | 5 | #16,954 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 7 | #13,335 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 6 | #15,329 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 6 | #15,313 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 10 | #10,835 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 5 | #18,043 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 10 | #10,735 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 14 | #7,969 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 8 | #11,809 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (111)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 11 | #9,160 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 9 | #10,383 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 13 | #7,807 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 15 | #6,860 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 11 | #8,318 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 17 | #5,848 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 21 | #4,852 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 16 | #5,818 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 16 | #5,712 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 29 | #3,708 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 32 | #3,430 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 43 | #2,779 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 29 | #3,640 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 40 | #2,856 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 48 | #2,410 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 42 | #2,541 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 37 | #2,667 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 33 | #2,855 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 43 | #2,319 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 54 | #1,924 | 0.03 |
| 1983 | 48 | #2,072 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 64 | #1,739 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 84 | #1,448 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 97 | #1,310 | 0.06 |
| 1979 | 90 | #1,364 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 101 | #1,231 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 102 | #1,199 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 149 | #886 | 0.10 |
| 1975 | 161 | #834 | 0.11 |
| 1974 | 139 | #909 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 163 | #802 | 0.11 |
| 1972 | 170 | #798 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 222 | #686 | 0.13 |
| 1970 | 95 | #1,196 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 30 | #2,358 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 27 | #2,369 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 37 | #1,925 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 17 | #3,051 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 24 | #2,473 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 35 | #2,015 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 23 | #2,552 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 29 | #2,216 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 26 | #2,365 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 26 | #2,315 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 32 | #1,988 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 28 | #2,118 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 34 | #1,873 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 34 | #1,837 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 32 | #1,882 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 42 | #1,561 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 35 | #1,675 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 27 | #1,938 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 26 | #1,924 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 30 | #1,731 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 31 | #1,705 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 27 | #1,824 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 36 | #1,580 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 16 | #2,401 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 22 | #1,799 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 11 | #2,786 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 14 | #2,458 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 11 | #2,837 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 14 | #2,279 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 8 | #3,249 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 11 | #2,615 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 14 | #2,242 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 8 | #3,177 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 11 | #2,541 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 14 | #2,213 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 11 | #2,586 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 8 | #3,140 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 14 | #2,250 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 14 | #2,214 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 24 | #1,618 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 6 | #4,129 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 20 | #1,908 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 20 | #1,943 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 23 | #1,781 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 23 | #1,802 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 26 | #1,684 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 19 | #2,032 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 13 | #2,629 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 24 | #1,775 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 12 | #2,749 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 20 | #1,865 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 18 | #2,045 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 11 | #2,716 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 11 | #2,687 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 11 | #2,559 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 10 | #2,288 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 9 | #1,999 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 8 | #1,811 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 7 | #1,966 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 9 | #1,488 | 0.03 |
| 1908 | 9 | #1,456 | 0.03 |
| 1907 | 8 | #1,522 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,990 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 5 | #1,979 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,832 | 0.02 |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,360 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,592 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Candida a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Candida has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 111 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Candida: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Candida, and how old are they?
2,840 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 79% of the 3,580 Americans ever recorded as Candida. The median Candida alive today is 51 years old; half are between 44 and 56.
The 2020 Census counted 8,104 people named Candida (8,069 women and girls, 35 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,970 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.7 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 69 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 442 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,520 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 638 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 154 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 18 |
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 Candida born?
The states with the most babies named Candida are New York, California and Texas, with 68% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 445 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| California | 310 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Texas | 217 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 57 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 57 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Ohio | 50 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Florida | 40 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Kentucky | 29 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| North Carolina | 29 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Tennessee | 26 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Candida is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Candida is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.6 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 Candida 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 6 names spelled alike, given to 14,372 babies since 1880, Candida is the second most given (25% of them).
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 Candida
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 Candida and names like it
- Compare Candida and CandiBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sCandida peaked in 1971.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Candida since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Candida: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1971The year the most babies were named Candida.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Candida alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with CMost given first.