Kadeem
Masculine · “ancient”
Kadeem is the Arabic word for ancient, and al-Qadim, the Eternal, is applied to God as the one with no beginning.
How old is the name Kadeem?
Kadeem first appears in US birth records in 1988 — 37 years ago. The typical Kadeem alive today was born around 1993, making them about 32 years old. About 2,600 people named Kadeem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kadeem most popular?
Kadeem peaked in 1991, reaching #498 nationally. Today it ranks #4249, 3,751 places below that high. See the whole 1991 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From qadim to Kadeem
The story of Kadeem
The distinction between qadim and hadith — the eternal and the originated — is one of the central problems of Islamic theology, and centuries of argument about whether the Qur'an is created or eternal turn on it. Qadim is the word for what has no beginning. As a personal name Kadeem is used in the Arab world and became familiar in American records in the 1980s through an actor.
Meaning
ancient, eternal
From an Arabic root meaning to precede or be prior; qadim describes what has always existed, and in theology it distinguishes God, who is uncreated, from everything else, which is hadith, originated.
How the name formed
- qadim
- Kadeem
Related forms: Qadim · Qadeem · Kadim
Pronouncing Kadeem
kuh-DEEM
Two syllables with the stress on the second. There is little variation.
Nicknames for Kadeem
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
- 1988
- Most boys named
- 1991391 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #498reached in 1991
- Change vs 2024
- +4.3%24 in 2025, from 23
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.
Kadeem in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Qadim in Arabic — transliteration
- Qadeem in Urdu — same name
- Kadim in Turkish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, New York, Georgia.
Kadeems among us
people named Kadeem are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 71,170 born in 2025 was named Kadeem
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 Jere test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kadeem's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jere climbed just as high around 1941, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jere's path sketches the road Kadeem is walking now.
Kadeem 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
Kadeem beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kadeem in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a genuinely serious theological place behind it.
- Kade is a complete short form in current use.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Qadeem with a q is the scholarly transliteration and looks quite different.
- It is strongly associated with one American decade.
- A name meaning ancient is an unusual thing to hand a child.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kadeem to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Kadeem? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kadeem
Masculine · #4249 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kadeems are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,600 people named Kadeem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kadeem in 2025?
- Kadeem ranks #4249 among US boy names in 2025, with 24 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kadeem?
- About 1 in every 71,170 US boys born in 2025 was named Kadeem — 24 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kadeem with classmates?
- Kadeem will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kadeem
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Guadalupe#4249 · Denny#4249 · Hughes#4249 · Erling#4249 · Rodrick#4249 · Elric#4249 · Ron#4249 · Wright#4249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kadeem? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kadeem and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle