Today’s name is either an interesting surname choice, or another morph of the super-trendy monolithic girls name MaKaylalyencelee.
Cady caught our eye a zillion years ago as the maiden name of abolitionist and suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She died before women were granted the vote – and long before women were viable candidates for the Presidency of the United States. But her work for racial and gender equity, and for human rights, broadly defined, lives on.
But would her name wear well on a girl today?
Cady should be an impeccable hero name choice. In fact, it was the name of Lindsey Lohan’s character in Mean Girls. Yes, the flick was about skulduggery in high school hallways. But that modern Cady ultimately proved herself more heroic than mean – and deserving of the moniker.
Trouble is that Cady is positioned to be either mistaken for Katie – a lovely, but maddeningly common nickname – or perceived as a variation on Caidhen, Caydence, Kailee, Caitlyn, Kaylynn, Kaela and on and on and on.
While Cady does not appear in the Top 1000 names for girls born in the US, most of those other names do – at least in some form. In fact, Cadence was the 199th most popular choice for baby girls in 2007.
Despite those considerable negatives, Cady still strikes us as a legitimate hero name, and a surname choice that works wonderfully well for a daughter. And, of course, there’s always the middle spot – where we discovered Cady in first place.
I think it’s a really cool middle name. I wouldn’t use it for a first name because of the dearth of Katies in my generation. Despite having a very respectable namesake, it still sounds a bit too cutesy for me. I love the idea, though, and it would be a nifty middle name.
I tend to agree – in the middle spot, it’s an appealing hero name. In the driver’s seat, it’s a life sentence of “My name is Cady. Let me spell it.”
Still, parents seem to crave ordinary names with a twist – so better one with history than yet another creative respelling of M’Kaelah – groan!
My name is Cady, and I love it. I was named after my great-great-great grandparents, Evajane and Jerome P. Cady. Jerome fought for the Union in the Civil War, and I love having a name tied to such exciting family history. I have gone through countless botched attempts at my name, including Caddie, Candy, Katie, and Cody. However, I don’t mind because it sets me apart just a little. Whenever someone messes up my name, I tell them that it rhymes with Lady. A lot of people also tell me that that they like the spelling of my name, which also makes me feel special. I do appreciate having a name that’s pronounced normally though, because in casual conversation I don’t have to go though the explanation of spelling it. I love being a Cady!
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