Cayman
Masculine · “caiman”
Cayman is given to both — 1,015 boys and 256 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Cayman is a crocodile before it is an island. The Spanish took the word caiman from a Carib or Arawak language of the Caribbean, applied it to the reptiles, and named a set of low islands after the ones living there. The islands then became famous for something else entirely.
How old is the name Cayman?
Cayman first appears in US birth records in 1985 — 40 years ago. The typical Cayman alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 1,000 people named Cayman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cayman most popular?
Cayman peaked in 2006, reaching #2285 nationally. Today it ranks #5045, 2,760 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From caiman to Cayman
The story of Cayman
The islands were sighted in 1503 and named for their reptiles; sailors stopped there for turtle meat for two centuries afterward. Their modern reputation as a financial center is a twentieth-century development and has nothing to do with the name. As a given name Cayman is recent and American, part of a group of place names, Ireland and Denver and Cayman among them, taken up in the last few decades for the sound as much as the place.
Meaning
caiman, a Caribbean crocodilian
Spanish caiman, borrowed from a Carib or Arawak word for the animal. The islands were named for the caimans and marine turtles found there by early Spanish and English sailors, and English spells the place with a y.
How the name formed
- caiman
- Cayman
Related forms: Caimán
Pronouncing Cayman
KAY-mun
Two syllables, stress in front. Spanish says kigh-MAHN with the weight at the end, which is a noticeably different rhythm.
Nicknames for Cayman
Moderate
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
- 1985
- Most boys named
- 200655 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2285reached in 2006
- Change vs 2024
- +5.6%19 in 2025, from 18
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.
Cayman in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Caimán in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Louisiana.
Caymans among us
people named Cayman are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 89,899 born in 2025 was named Cayman
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Deleon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Cayman's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Deleon climbed just as high around 1980, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Deleon's path sketches the road Cayman is walking now.
Cayman 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
Cayman beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Cayman in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is an animal and a real place, both of which can be shown.
- Cay works as a short form and is a word in its own right.
- Every sound is ordinary English, so nobody stumbles.
- The islands are best known for offshore banking, which is the first association for many adults.
- Cayman and Kayman both appear, so the spelling will be asked for.
- Place names invite questions about connection that a child did not choose.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Cayman to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Cayman
Masculine · #5045 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Caymans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Cayman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cayman in 2025?
- Cayman ranks #5045 among US boy names in 2025, with 19 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Cayman?
- About 1 in every 89,899 US boys born in 2025 was named Cayman — 19 in all.
- Will my child share the name Cayman with classmates?
- Cayman will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Cayman
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Silver#5045 · Daymon#5045 · Thierry#5045 · Mehmet#5045 · Tyrel#5045 · Teague#5045 · Zeyad#5045 · Gardner#5045
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cayman? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Cayman and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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