Head to head · Boys' names
Caiden vs Reese
#602 vs #602 in 2025
Caiden and Reese share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#602). The records cannot split them; sound and story 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
The tape is even: Caiden and Reese each lead 2 measures of 6.
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: Caiden —, Reese #670 — Reese higher
- 1890s: Caiden —, Reese #686 — Reese higher
- 1900s: Caiden —, Reese #818 — Reese higher
- 1910s: Caiden —, Reese #878 — Reese higher
- 1920s: Caiden —, Reese #967 — Reese higher
- 1930s: Caiden —, Reese #1110 — Reese higher
- 1940s: Caiden —, Reese #1095 — Reese higher
- 1950s: Caiden —, Reese #1052 — Reese higher
- 1960s: Caiden —, Reese #1030 — Reese higher
- 1970s: Caiden —, Reese #1249 — Reese higher
- 1980s: Caiden —, Reese #1133 — Reese higher
- 1990s: Caiden #3640, Reese #733 — Reese higher
- 2000s: Caiden #521, Reese #418 — Reese higher
- 2010s: Caiden #301, Reese #631 — Caiden higher
- 2020s: Caiden #480, Reese #655 — Caiden higher
Reese stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Caiden has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Caiden | Reese |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #670 |
| 1890s | — | #686 |
| 1900s | — | #818 |
| 1910s | — | #878 |
| 1920s | — | #967 |
| 1930s | — | #1110 |
| 1940s | — | #1095 |
| 1950s | — | #1052 |
| 1960s | — | #1030 |
| 1970s | — | #1249 |
| 1980s | — | #1133 |
| 1990s | #3640 | #733 |
| 2000s | #521 | #418 |
| 2010s | #301 | #631 |
| 2020s | #480 | #655 |
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
Caiden
Not established
No meaning is established. Caiden has no history apart from Kaden and Caden, and the meanings offered for those online belong to other words and names.
Our story of Caiden — where the record runs out
Caiden is assembled from sounds English already loved. Its rhyme is the rhyme of Aiden and Braden.
Reese
Ardor, enthusiasm; fiery zeal
The Welsh root rhys is usually glossed as ardor or enthusiasm, and often rendered in name books as "fiery" or "ardent".
Rhys → Rees → Reese
How it traveled
The name begins in Wales as Rhys, borne by princes of the medieval Welsh kingdoms and common enough among ordinary Welsh families that it hardened into surnames — Rees, Reese, Rice, and Preece, from ap Rhys, "son of Rhys". Those surnames crossed the Atlantic with Welsh emigrants and settled into American records, where Reese became the usual spelling.
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
Caiden
KAY-den
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with Aiden.
Reese
REESS
One syllable, rhyming with peace. The final sound is a hissed s, not a z; the same pronunciation covers Reece, Rees and Welsh Rhys.
- Reesie — Affectionate home form, mostly used with young children.
- Ree — Informal clipping; rare, since the full name is already one syllable.
- Rhys — Not a nickname but the Welsh original — some families use it as the formal written form.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Caiden if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsCaiden is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itCaiden runs 2 syllables, Reese 1
- a name that stays wholeno recorded short form for Caiden
- a newer arrivalCaiden entered the US charts in 1990
Choose Reese if you want…
- a name on the way upup 128 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesReese is 1 syllable to Caiden's 2
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Reesie, Ree and Rhys
- a long American recordReese 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
Caiden
Strengths
- Easy to say and instantly placed in the familiar Aiden rhyme.
- Two syllables that sit well with most surnames.
- The C spelling sets it apart from the many K spellings of the same sound.
To consider
- The sound has many spellings, so others will write Kaden, Kayden or Caden, and it will need spelling out for life.
- A reader who knows Welsh, or the name Kai, may try KY-den at first.
- The rhyme was everywhere for a time, so the name will date to that period. A few girls are recorded with this spelling; for them it will read as a boy's name.
Reese
Strengths
- One syllable, one clear sound — easy to say, easy to hear across a playground, and it needs no shortening.
- Instantly familiar to Americans as a word and a surname, so it is read correctly on sight even by people meeting it for the first time.
- A documented line back to medieval Welsh Rhys, which gives it real depth for families with Welsh roots.
To consider
- In the US, Reese is also the name of a very well-known peanut butter candy, spelled identically. Most children shrug it off, but expect the joke at some point.
- Four spellings compete — Reese, Reece, Rees, Rhys — so the name will often be spelled back to you wrong even when it is heard right.
- Most American Reeses are girls, so a boy called Reese may be assumed female on paperwork and rosters, even though the boys' line is the older one.
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 Caiden and Reese 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 Caiden and Reese?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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 Caiden and Reese — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Caiden or Reese — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Caiden or Reese?
- They tie in 2025: Caiden ranked #602 with 475 babies; Reese ranked #602 with 475 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Caiden or Reese?
- Reese. Over the last five years Caiden moved down 219 places; Reese moved up 128 places.
- Which is the older name, Caiden or Reese?
- Caiden entered the US charts in 1990; Reese was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Reese is the older name.
- How many people are named Caiden and Reese?
- About 23,000 people named Caiden are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,500 people named Reese are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Caidens or Reeses in the classroom?
- Caiden will almost certainly be the only one in school. Reese 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Caiden, Reese and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap