Cassius
Masculine · “Most often read as "empty”
Cassius is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 9,736 boys against 30 girls since 1880.
Cassius was a Roman family name long before it was anyone's first name — the name of the gens Cassia, and of the senator to whom Shakespeare gave the line about a lean and hungry look. It ends the way Atticus and Julius end, with the soft Latin -us that English has borrowed comfortably, and it shortens in one syllable to Cass or Cash.
How old is the name Cassius?
Cassius was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Cassius is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 9,200 people named Cassius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cassius most popular?
Cassius peaked in 1880, reaching #425 nationally. Today it ranks #582, 157 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From Cassius (Roman nomen) to Cassius
The story of Cassius
Cassius began as a Roman nomen, the name of the gens Cassia, a family present in Rome's records from the early Republic onward. Its best-known bearer, Gaius Cassius Longinus, joined the conspiracy against Julius Caesar in 44 BC — which is how the name reached English readers, first through Roman historians and then through Shakespeare, who gave Cassius some of the most quoted lines in Julius Caesar. Latin also built Cassianus from it, which became Cassian, while Italian kept Cassio, the name Shakespeare reused in Othello. American parents were giving it to sons during the classical-revival years of the nineteenth century, and it has stayed on the record ever since, quietly for long stretches and more audibly of late.
Meaningscholars disagree
Most often read as "empty, hollow, vain," from Latin cassus
Two positions compete. The standard proposal links the family name to the Latin adjective cassus, "empty" or "hollow" — the same root behind words for something void. The other holds that Cassius, like many old Roman clan names, is simply older than Latin etymology can reach, an Italic family label whose sense was already lost by the Republic. Roman nomina were inherited, not chosen for meaning, so the family carried it for centuries without anyone taking it as a description.
How the name formed
- CassiusRoman nomen
- Cassianus
- Cassian
- Cassio
Related forms: Cassio · Cássio · Casio · Cassien · Kasjusz · Кассий (Kassiy)
Pronouncing Cassius
KASH-us
Two pronunciations circulate in American English: KASH-us, the more common, and the three-syllable KASS-ee-us, closer to the Latin KAS-see-oos. Both are correct; families generally pick one and repeat it.
Nicknames for Cassius
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2020602 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #425reached in 1880
- Change vs 2023
- −1.0%504 in 2025, from 509
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Cassius in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cassio in Italian — same name
- Cássio in Portuguese — same name
- Casio in Spanish — same name
- Cassien in French — related form
- Kasjusz in Polish — same name
- Кассий (Kassiy) in Russian — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Washington.
Cassiuss among us
people named Cassius are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 3,389 born in 2025 was named Cassius
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Cassius
- #582
- Cassius on the 2025 chart
- #479
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Cassius went to 504 boys in 2025, but Kassius is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 567, which makes it the 479th most-given boys’ name of the year — 103 places above the chart.
- Cassius504
- Kassius63
About 1 boy in 3,012 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 3,389 for Cassius itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Cassius sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Cassius is headed
Cassius should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Cassius beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Cassius in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- An unbroken written record from the Roman Republic to the present, so the spelling is already familiar to anyone who has read Shakespeare or Roman history.
- Two established one-syllable short forms, Cass and Cash, both in genuine use.
- Recognizable across Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Polish in forms close enough that the name survives a border.
- Fits an English pattern already well settled — Atticus, Julius, Marcus — so it needs no explaining as a boy's name.
- Rare enough on class lists that a Cassius rarely shares his name, while still being a name people have heard.
- The pronunciation genuinely splits: KASH-us and KASS-ee-us are both in use, so he will correct people, or be corrected, throughout his life. Choosing one early and using it consistently is most of the fix.
- The leading etymology, Latin cassus, means "empty" or "hollow" — an unappealing reading if a meaning matters to you, though Roman families inherited such names without ever treating them as descriptions.
- The strongest historical association is with the conspirator who helped kill Caesar, and Shakespeare's portrait of him is not flattering. Most people recall the name before the plot, but some readers will make the link.
- Cass and Cassie are shared territory with Cassandra and Cassidy, so the short forms are less clearly masculine than the full name is.
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Cassius
Masculine · #582 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Cassiuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,200 people named Cassius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Cassius?
- Cassius is the most-used spelling in US records — 504 of the 567 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Kassius.
- How popular is the name Cassius in 2025?
- Cassius ranks #582 among US boy names in 2025, with 504 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Cassius?
- About 1 in every 3,389 US boys born in 2025 was named Cassius — 504 in all.
- Will my child share the name Cassius with classmates?
- Cassius will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Cassius
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kyren#582 · Atreus#582 · Seth#581 · Maximo#580 · Camilo#585 · Eliel#585 · Kylan#578 · Allen#578
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cassius? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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