Cainan
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KAY-nan
- Origin
- Hebrew
- US rank, 2025
- #3,512 for boys
Cainan is a boys' name of Hebrew origin. In 2025 it ranked 3,512th for boys in the US (32 babies).
What does Cainan mean?
Hebrew: spelling of Kainan, itself a spelling of Cainan, a form of Kenan
Cainan is the King James spelling of Kenan, son of Enosh and an ancestor of Noah in Genesis.
Meaning borrowed from Kainan.
Is Cainan a girl's or a boy's name?
Cainan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 32 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Cainan in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2012, with 5 boys.
Cainan in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 3 | #5,017 |
| 2021 | 1 | #6,364 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 5 | #3,597 |
| 2018 | 3 | #4,959 |
| 2017 | 3 | #4,995 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 3 | #4,829 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 5 | #3,572 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 3 | #4,865 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 3 | #4,486 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 4 | #2,612 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 3 | #2,979 |
How popular is Cainan in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,512th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 32 about 1 in 53,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 9% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 32 boys in the US were named Cainan, making it the 3,512th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,808th. Its busiest year was 2016, with 47 boys. It first appears in the records in 1981.
Half of all the boys named Cainan in the US since 1880 were born between 2002 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 417 boys in the US were given Cainan or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #629, up from #3,512 for this spelling alone.
Cainan in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 32 | #3,512 |
| 2024 | 36 | #3,270 |
| 2023 | 28 | #3,880 |
| 2022 | 37 | #3,214 |
| 2021 | 24 | #4,243 |
| 2020 | 27 | #3,808 |
| 2019 | 44 | #2,807 |
| 2018 | 34 | #3,298 |
| 2017 | 41 | #2,890 |
| 2016 | 47 | #2,625 |
| 2015 | 38 | #3,021 |
| 2014 | 23 | #4,260 |
| 2013 | 21 | #4,461 |
| 2012 | 32 | #3,368 |
| 2011 | 24 | #4,108 |
| 2010 | 34 | #3,238 |
| 2009 | 38 | #3,044 |
| 2008 | 28 | #3,741 |
| 2007 | 40 | #2,918 |
| 2006 | 40 | #2,831 |
| 2005 | 22 | #4,057 |
| 2004 | 39 | #2,693 |
| 2003 | 34 | #2,843 |
| 2002 | 23 | #3,665 |
| 2001 | 21 | #3,837 |
| 2000 | 24 | #3,417 |
| 1999 | 27 | #3,027 |
| 1998 | 21 | #3,482 |
| 1997 | 24 | #3,059 |
| 1996 | 11 | #5,180 |
| 1995 | 12 | #4,785 |
| 1994 | 7 | #6,962 |
| 1993 | 11 | #4,995 |
| 1992 | 6 | #7,414 |
| 1991 | 11 | #4,752 |
| 1990 | 11 | #4,667 |
| 1989 | 6 | #6,934 |
| 1988 | 6 | #6,420 |
| 1987 | 7 | #5,453 |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 6 | #5,780 |
| 1984 | 7 | #4,969 |
| 1983 | 11 | #3,629 |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 9 | #4,151 |
Nicknames for Cainan
- Kai 816 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Cainan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Ronan, Finn, Conan, Kayden, Caelan, Brody, Aiden, Callan, Declan, Conlan, Keegan, Rowan
Other spellings of Cainan
Kanan, Kanaan, Kainen, Kainan, Kaynan, Kanen, Cainen, Kainon, Kaynen, Kaenan, Cannan
Names related to Cainan
More Hebrew names
Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Elias
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Cainan: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/cainan, updated 20 October 2026.