Camden
Camden was the 205th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,722 babies. Its best year was 2013, when it ranked 99th with 3,897 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 101 places. More babies were named Camden in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning enclosure valley (place name) · Old English
Say it KAM-duhn /ˈkæmdən/
- Rank in 2025
- #205 boys, down 38 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,722boys
- Girls and boys
- 6% girls, 94% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20133,897 babies
- Total since 1880
- 63,101babies recorded
What does the name Camden mean?
Camden is an English place name and surname. Wiktionary derives it from Old English camp, 'enclosure, field', and denu, 'valley'. Many places in Britain and the US are called Camden, as Wikipedia lists, and the surname comes from one or more of the English ones. Cam is a natural short form. As a boy's first name it is a recent American transfer from the surname and place name.
camp (Old English, “enclosure, field”)denu (Old English, “valley”)
How sure is this? Probable. The Old English analysis is Wiktionary's; it should be checked against a place-name dictionary.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Camden', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Camden', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Camden
The usual nicknames for Camden are Cam. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Camden in the last five years, 6 were named Cam, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cam · also for Cameron, Camryn, Campbell | Modern | #1,395 | 630 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Camdens go by each one.
Camden popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,428 | #205 | 151 | 1,722 |
| 2020 | #1,561 | #167 | 135 | 2,311 |
| 2010 | #1,742 | #180 | 120 | 2,105 |
| 2000 | #2,460 | #362 | 62 | 731 |
| 1990 | #5,594 | #950 | 16 | 119 |
| 1980 | #5,579 | #2,630 | 12 | 18 |
| 1970 | — | #3,896 | — | 7 |
| 1960 | — | #4,108 | — | 5 |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | #3,884 | — | 6 |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Camden, counting every spelling?
Camden is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #175 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #205 for Camden on its own. Together these spellings went to 2,307 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | 1,722 | #205 | 9,828 |
| Kamden | 375 | #718 | 2,398 |
| Kamdyn | 109 | #1,568 | 860 |
| Camdyn | 83 | #1,889 | 628 |
| Camdon | 7 | #9,876 | 70 |
| Kamdon | 11 | #7,423 | 65 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Camden?
1,722 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Camden (0.48 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Camden born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 5 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Camden.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Camden?
About 58,400 people born in the US named Camden are alive today, with a median age of 12; half are between 8 and 18. That makes Camden a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Camden by state
How common Camden was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maine (2.8×), South Dakota (2.7×), North Dakota (2.5×), Nebraska (2.5×), Maryland (2.4×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Jersey, New Mexico, Delaware.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Camden: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Camden, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Camden · Sibling names for Camden
Questions about the name Camden
What does Camden mean?
Camden means “enclosure valley (place name)” (Old English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Camden?
Camden was the 205th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,722 babies. Its best year was 2013, when it ranked 99th with 3,897 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 101 places. More babies were named Camden in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Camden a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 6% girls, 94% boys given the name Camden in the US.
Where is Camden most popular?
In 2021–2025, Camden was most common in Maine (3.14 per 1,000 boys), followed by South Dakota and Vermont.