Head to head · Boys' names
Andres vs Caden
#200 vs #201 in 2025
Andres is a whisker ahead (#200 vs #201 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Andres is holding its place on the charts, Caden is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Caden has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Andres leads 4 measures of 6; Caden leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Andres #684, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1890s: Andres #834, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1900s: Andres #706, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1910s: Andres #749, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1920s: Andres #633, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1930s: Andres #632, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1940s: Andres #607, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1950s: Andres #580, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1960s: Andres #490, Caden — — Andres higher
- 1970s: Andres #359, Caden #6056 — Andres higher
- 1980s: Andres #238, Caden #4831 — Andres higher
- 1990s: Andres #170, Caden #961 — Andres higher
- 2000s: Andres #162, Caden #129 — Caden higher
- 2010s: Andres #209, Caden #189 — Caden higher
- 2020s: Andres #207, Caden #218 — Andres higher
Andres stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Andres took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Andres | Caden |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #684 | — |
| 1890s | #834 | — |
| 1900s | #706 | — |
| 1910s | #749 | — |
| 1920s | #633 | — |
| 1930s | #632 | — |
| 1940s | #607 | — |
| 1950s | #580 | — |
| 1960s | #490 | — |
| 1970s | #359 | #6056 |
| 1980s | #238 | #4831 |
| 1990s | #170 | #961 |
| 2000s | #162 | #129 |
| 2010s | #209 | #189 |
| 2020s | #207 | #218 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Andres
manly, of a man
From the Greek Andreas, built on anēr, andros — 'man'.
Andreas → Andreas (Latin) → Andrés → Andres
How it traveled
The root is Greek: Andreas, from andros, 'of a man'. It was already a common Greek name when one of the twelve apostles in the New Testament bore it, and Christian missionaries carried it across Europe, where each language reshaped it — Andrew in English, André in French, Andrzej in Polish, Andrés in Spanish.
Caden
Either "son of Cadán," from an Irish surname, or no lexical meaning at all
One reading takes Caden as an anglicized form of the Irish surname Mac Cadáin, "son of Cadán," from a personal name built on the old element meaning battle. The other, equally serious, treats the given name as a modern American formation shaped by the -aden pattern already established by Aiden, Hayden and Braden — a name assembled from sound rather than inherited from a word. Both explanations have support, and the second does not make it a lesser name.
How it traveled
The surname line is real: Mac Cadáin appears in Irish records, and Caden and Cadan both survive as family names in Ireland and Britain. What is not documented is a long run of Caden as a first name in English before the twentieth century — it simply is not there in the older registers.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Andres
ahn-DRESS
That is the Spanish stress, on the second syllable. In English-speaking settings many bearers accept AN-druss, with the weight up front. Both are in real use, and it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
- Andy — The most portable short form, shared with Andrew and Andrea; also used on its own as a given name.
- Andresito — Spanish diminutive, affectionate and family-level rather than public.
- Dre — Informal clipping heard mainly among younger speakers in the US.
- Nano — A familiar nickname used in parts of the Spanish-speaking world; household use only.
Caden
KAY-den
Two syllables, stress on the first, second syllable unstressed and light. The pronunciation is settled; only the spelling varies.
- Cade — The usual short form, and a well-established given name in its own right in the US — a boy called Cade may never be a Caden at all.
- Kade — Same short form spelled with a K; sometimes used by families who chose the C spelling anyway.
- C.J. — Informal, and only where the middle name supplies the second initial.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Andres if you want…
- a name holding steadyAndres is holding its place on the charts
- a long American recordAndres was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 25% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 49% for Caden
Choose Caden if you want…
- a name on the way upup 41 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalCaden entered the US charts in 1979
- a name that feels very nowCaden is climbing the charts fast
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Andres
Strengths
- Recognized in dozens of languages through its close relatives — Andrew, André, Andreas — so it travels without translation.
- Spelled the way it sounds, and short enough to fit any form field.
- Comes with a ready-made short form in Andy, in continuous use for centuries.
To consider
- The Spanish spelling carries an accent: Andrés. Dropping it, as US records do, is entirely normal, but you may find yourself choosing between the two versions on documents, and family may restore it in speech.
- Two pronunciations circulate, ahn-DRESS and AN-druss, so your son will likely hear both and learn to answer to either.
- It sits close to Andrew, André and Andreas, and people who know one will sometimes reach for the wrong one on a first meeting.
Caden
Strengths
- Phonetically transparent in American English — people hear it correctly the first time, because the -aden ending is already familiar to every ear.
- Comes with Cade, a short form that also works as a full name on its own, which gives a boy a shorter option without a nickname that sounds like one.
- Two syllables, no silent letters, no consonant clusters — easy for a young child to say and write early.
To consider
- The spelling is the real cost. Kaden, Cayden, Kaiden and Caiden are all in circulation, so a Caden will be spelling his name out for teachers, dentists and coffee shops for life.
- It sits inside a large rhyming cohort — Aiden, Hayden, Jayden, Braden — so classrooms may hold several names that sound like his without sharing it, and the whole set reads as belonging to a particular recent stretch of decades.
- Most people carrying the name are still young, which means it currently sounds like a name for teenagers and children rather than for adults. That changes on its own as they grow.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Andres
25%chance Andres feels dated by 2040
Andres peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
Caden
49%chance Caden feels dated by 2040
Caden is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Andres and Caden in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Andres and Caden?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Names ending in -s
- Five-letter names, the comfortable middle
- all guides
Where Andres and Caden each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Andres or Caden — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Andres or Caden?
- Andres, in 2025: Andres ranked #200 with 1,744 babies; Caden ranked #201 with 1,742 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Andres or Caden?
- Caden. Over the last five years Andres moved up 19 places; Caden moved up 41 places.
- Which is the older name, Andres or Caden?
- Andres was already in use when US records began in 1880; Caden entered the US charts in 1979. On the American record, Andres is the older name.
- How many people are named Andres and Caden?
- About 90,500 people named Andres are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 71,500 people named Caden are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Andress or Cadens in the classroom?
- Andres will almost certainly be the only one in school. Caden will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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