# Cain (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/cain/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “craftsman” |
| Pronunciation | /keɪn/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 7,628 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 7,628 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,117, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Hebrew קַיִן (Káyin, “craftsman”), present since Old English.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 254 | 845 |
| 2012 | 290 | 783 |
| 2013 | 285 | 792 |
| 2014 | 330 | 727 |
| 2015 | 326 | 743 |
| 2016 | 324 | 751 |
| 2017 | 262 | 845 |
| 2018 | 251 | 871 |
| 2019 | 285 | 806 |
| 2020 | 254 | 893 |
| 2021 | 235 | 956 |
| 2022 | 253 | 914 |
| 2023 | 250 | 922 |
| 2024 | 230 | 980 |
| 2025 | 185 | 1,142 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 68 | 516 |
| 2012 | 71 | 522 |
| 2013 | 71 | 520 |
| 2014 | 61 | 583 |
| 2015 | 53 | 646 |
| 2016 | 54 | 647 |
| 2017 | 39 | 818 |
| 2018 | 44 | 749 |
| 2019 | 31 | 929 |
| 2020 | 26 | 1,051 |
| 2021 | 21 | 1,250 |
| 2022 | 20 | 1,314 |
| 2023 | 27 | 1,071 |
| 2024 | 18 | 1,460 |
| 2025 | 25 | 1,153 |

## People named Cain

- Cain Velasquez, American mixed martial artist

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.