Head to head · Boys' names
Cade vs Cyrus
#248 vs #268 in 2025 · both back after a long quiet spell
Cade is a whisker ahead (#248 vs #268 in 2025) and both are back after a long quiet spell. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Cade leads 5 measures of 6; Cyrus leads 1.
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: Cade —, Cyrus #251 — Cyrus higher
- 1890s: Cade —, Cyrus #349 — Cyrus higher
- 1900s: Cade —, Cyrus #445 — Cyrus higher
- 1910s: Cade —, Cyrus #513 — Cyrus higher
- 1920s: Cade —, Cyrus #605 — Cyrus higher
- 1930s: Cade —, Cyrus #677 — Cyrus higher
- 1940s: Cade —, Cyrus #753 — Cyrus higher
- 1950s: Cade #3798, Cyrus #798 — Cyrus higher
- 1960s: Cade #2958, Cyrus #847 — Cyrus higher
- 1970s: Cade #1469, Cyrus #831 — Cyrus higher
- 1980s: Cade #1012, Cyrus #726 — Cyrus higher
- 1990s: Cade #591, Cyrus #711 — Cade higher
- 2000s: Cade #260, Cyrus #503 — Cade higher
- 2010s: Cade #378, Cyrus #448 — Cade higher
- 2020s: Cade #301, Cyrus #310 — Cade higher
Cyrus stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Cade has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Cade | Cyrus |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #251 |
| 1890s | — | #349 |
| 1900s | — | #445 |
| 1910s | — | #513 |
| 1920s | — | #605 |
| 1930s | — | #677 |
| 1940s | — | #753 |
| 1950s | #3798 | #798 |
| 1960s | #2958 | #847 |
| 1970s | #1469 | #831 |
| 1980s | #1012 | #726 |
| 1990s | #591 | #711 |
| 2000s | #260 | #503 |
| 2010s | #378 | #448 |
| 2020s | #301 | #310 |
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
Cade
from an English surname; most often traced to Middle English cade, 'cask, barrel'
The main reading is occupational or metonymic: cade meant a cask or barrel in Middle English, so the surname would have attached to someone who made or sold them. A second reading takes it from the Old English personal byname Cada. A third points to the dialect sense of cade — a lamb raised by hand — used as a nickname. None of the three has pushed the others out.
Cada (Old English byname) → Cade (English surname) → Cade (given name)
How it traveled
Cade is an English surname first, recorded in medieval England and carried to America the way hundreds of such surnames were, then lifted into use as a first name. It is old enough to be famous in that older role: Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 2 puts Jack Cade at the head of a Kentish rebellion, drawing on the real revolt of 1450.
Cyrus
Not established
The Old Persian Kūruš has no agreed translation. Greek and Roman writers connected it with a word for the sun, and that reading still circulates; modern scholars have proposed a sense of 'young' from Old Persian, and others suspect a pre-Persian, possibly Elamite, source. A separate strand comes from Greek: kyrios, 'lord', which resembles Kyros closely enough that early Greek speakers linked the two, though the resemblance is likely coincidence.
Kūruš → Koresh → Kyros → Cyrus
How it traveled
The oldest form is Old Persian Kūruš, the name of Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire in the sixth century BC. Hebrew scripture calls him Koresh and credits him with ending the Babylonian exile; Greek writers made him Kyros, and Xenophon built a whole education-of-a-prince treatise, the Cyropaedia, around him.
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
Cade
KAYD
One syllable, rhyming with made. There is no competing pronunciation in English.
Cyrus
SY-rus
Two syllables, stress on the first, opening like the word 'sigh'. Persian-speaking relatives may use Kourosh instead, pronounced koo-ROOSH, which is the same name on its own road.
- Cy — The standard short form in English for generations, and long used as a standalone given name and nickname in its own right.
- Sy — Same sound, alternate spelling; more often seen as a short form of Seymour or Simon, so it invites a question.
- Cyro — Informal and family-made rather than established; occasionally used among friends.
Who has carried each name
Cade
Cade Cunningham (b. 2001) — NBA All-Star guard
Cyrus
No documented entry for Cyrus yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Cade if you want…
- a name most people already know#248 in 2025, 1,392 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 128 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesCade is 1 syllable to Cyrus's 2
- a name that stays wholeno recorded short form for Cade
Choose Cyrus if you want…
- a name fewer children share#268 in 2025 — cyrus will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name with more sound in itCyrus runs 2 syllables, Cade 1
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Cy, Sy and Cyro
- a long American recordCyrus was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Cade
Strengths
- One syllable, spelled the way it sounds — most people get it right on the first hearing.
- A documented English surname with centuries behind it, so it is a first name with a real record rather than a recent coinage.
- On US birth records continuously since the 1950s, which gives it a long, unbroken presence without ever belonging to a single decade.
To consider
- It lives next door to the Caden, Kaden and Cayden cluster, and to the Kade spelling. Expect some people to assume Cade is short for something longer, or to write it with a K.
- One syllable means no built-in nickname and no formal version to fall back on — what you choose is what he has, in kindergarten and on a résumé alike.
- It reads as distinctly American surname-style, so outside the US it may need repeating once before it registers as a first name.
Cyrus
Strengths
- One settled short form, Cy, ready and unmistakable, plus a full form that needs no explanation on a form or a diploma.
- A spelling most English speakers can write on hearing it, backed by centuries of use in Bibles, histories and family records.
- Continuous presence in American records rather than a revival from nothing — old people, young people and newborns all carry it.
To consider
- Many Americans meet Cyrus first as a surname, thanks to well-known bearers of that last name in country and pop music. It reads as a surname to some ears, which may mean an occasional double take.
- In a Persian-speaking family, expect the name to be spoken two ways — Cyrus at school, Kourosh at home. That is usually a pleasure rather than a problem, but it is worth deciding early which one goes on the birth certificate.
- The -us ending puts it in company with Marcus, Titus and Silas; whether that grouping suits your surname is worth reading aloud a few times.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Cade and Cyrus 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 Cade and Cyrus?
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 than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Cade and Cyrus — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Cade or Cyrus — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Cade or Cyrus?
- Cade, in 2025: Cade ranked #248 with 1,392 babies; Cyrus ranked #268 with 1,284 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Cade or Cyrus?
- Cade. Over the last five years Cade moved up 128 places; Cyrus moved up 101 places.
- Which is the older name, Cade or Cyrus?
- Cade entered the US charts in 1953; Cyrus was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Cyrus is the older name.
- How many people are named Cade and Cyrus?
- About 34,500 people named Cade are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 24,500 people named Cyrus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Cades or Cyruss in the classroom?
- Cade will almost certainly be the only one in school. Cyrus 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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