Candice
Candice was the 5125th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 25 babies. Its best year was 1982, when it ranked 78th with 3,791 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 3,284 places. More babies were named Candice in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Candace) title of the queens of ancient Kush · Meroitic, Greek, Latin
- Rank in 2025
- #5,125 girls, down 2,097 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 25girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19823,791 babies
- Total since 1880
- 68,139babies recorded
What does the name Candice mean?
Candice is a spelling of Candace, pronounced the same way, so it shares Candace's meaning and origin.
Candace comes from a royal title, not an ordinary word. In the ancient kingdom of Kush (in what is now Sudan), the queens and queen mothers were called kandake, a Meroitic title that Greek writers rendered as Kandakē and Latin as Candace. The New Testament mentions "Candace, queen of the Ethiopians" in the story of the Ethiopian official in Acts 8:27, and English speakers took the title as a woman's name. It was especially fashionable in the US from the 1970s to the early 1990s.
kdke (kandake) (Meroitic, “title of the queens or queen mothers of Kush”)Κανδάκη (Ancient Greek, “Kandakē, the same title”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Other explanations you may read: Candace means 'pure and innocent' or comes from Latin candidus 'white, shining'.
Related names: Candice, Candis, Kandace, Candy.
See also: African names, names that mean king or queen.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Candace', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- New Testament, Acts 8:27 (NRSV Updated Edition), Bible Gateway
- Wikipedia, 'Candace (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Candice popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 155 since 1971.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,125 | 25 |
| 2020 | #3,028 | 53 |
| 2010 | #1,575 | 139 |
| 2000 | #715 | 324 |
| 1990 | #147 | 2,117 |
| 1980 | #99 | 3,012 |
| 1970 | #287 | 1,022 |
| 1960 | #611 | 268 |
| 1950 | #278 | 764 |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Candice, counting every spelling?
Candice is a spelling of Candace, a name family that had 82 girls in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 82 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candace | 50 | #3,173 | 276 |
| Candice | 25 | #5,125 | 148 |
| Kandace | 7 | #12,522 | 58 |
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 Candice?
25 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Candice (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Candice 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 337 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Candice.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Candice?
About 63,400 people born in the US named Candice are alive today, with a median age of 43; half are between 38 and 50. That makes Candice mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
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.
Candice by state
How common Candice was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 48 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Candice: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Candice, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Candice
What does Candice mean?
Candice is a spelling of Candace, which means “title of the queens of ancient Kush” (Meroitic, Greek, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Candice?
Candice was the 5125th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 25 babies. Its best year was 1982, when it ranked 78th with 3,791 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 3,284 places. More babies were named Candice in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Candice a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Candice in the US.
Where is Candice most popular?
In 2021–2025, Candice was most common in California (0.01 per 1,000 girls), followed by New York and Texas.