Camden Town
Image via Wikipedia

Cross Cameron with London and you’ll end up with this rapidly rising choice.

Thanks to Tracy for suggesting the only name her husband likes. Our Baby Name of the Day is Camden.

If Camden brings to mind only Camden, New Jersey, it probably seems an implausible pick for a child. I’m sure the city has its good points, but political scandal, crime, and economic woes have dominated Camden’s story in the national media for years.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Camden Town is a neighborhood in northwest London. This Camden has been home to everyone from Madness to Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens to Oasis. George Orwell and Dylan Thomas both lived there around the same time. The Camden Markets – there are half a dozen – draw tens of thousands of visitors every weekend, selling everything from music to mirrors. If this was the only Camden you knew, the name might very well be as viable an option as, well, London.

The original Camden takes its name from Charles Pratt, a politician and the first to wear the title Earl Camden in the 1700s. Pratt developed the area in the eighteenth century. His son, the second Earl, became Marquess Camden in 1812. Just a few years later, Regent’s Canal reached the area, and Camden Lock opened. You can watch Kate Winslet walk around the area in her commercial for American Express from a few years back.

Camden’s history as a surname reaches back even farther. It probably started out as Campden, from camp – enclosure – and denu – valley. You can still visit Chipping Camden in the Cotswolds, the site of a real-life murder mystery from the 1600s, a tale so fantastic it almost has to be true.

The question is why Camden caught on as a given name. Unlike many surname options, Camden was never in US Top 1000 until 1990. A few theories to explain his rise:

  • Cameron caught on in a big way, reaching #62 in 1990, and peaking at #31 in 2000. Other Cam- names have followed, and Cameron still stands at #59 for boys;
  • Of course, Cameron Diaz rocketed to fame in 1994’s The Mask, encouraging more parents to consider it for a daughter – and sending parents who liked Cameron for a son looking for other options;
  • The long-running WB series 7th Heaven featured the squeaky clean Camden family from 1996 into 2oo7;
  • In 1992, Camden Yards opened in Baltimore, home of the Baltimore Orioles. The ballpark stands on the former site of the B&O Railroad’s Camden Station rail yard and incorporates part of a former warehouse;
  • Caleb, Carter, Connor, Cole, Cooper, Carson, Colton, plus Caden and K-spellings of nearly every one of those names are also stylish;
  • Place names were on the rise during the era, as were two-syllable names that end-in-n.

Add it up, and Camden goes from being an unlikely choice to an obvious one. The UK connection gives it a certain gritty, alternative vibe, but the baseball connection is as red, white, and blue as you might wish. With the easy nickname Cam, it is easy to see why Camden went from unranked in 1989 to #194 in 2009. His only drawback is just that – he’s so stylish it is hard to say how high he’ll reach.

About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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37 Comments

  1. I think Cam is a ridiculously cute nickname for a girl or a boy! There’s a beautiful town in Maine named Camden, so points for that!

  2. I am so happy to stumble onto this site. I named my son Camden in 2003, not because of any association to New Jersey or London or 7th Heaven but because I found it in a baby name book while looking for Scottish/Celtic names. I liked Cameron at the time but it was becoming too popular. People frequently ask if I named him after the baseball field, while cocking their head to the side and offering a sarcastic “really” expression. But my son IS a Camden and he is fantastic. It is interesting that two stars just had baby boys and named them Camden–Kristen Cavallari and Vanessa Miinnillo-Lachey. 🙂

    1. I know a very stylish Camden in his late 20s. It wears well! And yes, how ’bout that double Camden?!

  3. Meh. Honestly, Camden has kind of a tacky vibe to me. I have known a few Camdens, so this may be one of those names that has jumped the shark already in the South/West where the surname/rugged names have been used longer. I don’t know, I think the easy kre8tive respelling potential doesn’t help at all here. Kamden, Kamdyn, Camdynn….Yep. Not into it.

    1. Caroline, funny you mention the use of the name in the South/West. I grew up in Alabama and have lived in Texas for much of my adult life. Camden sounds dated to me. I’m surprised it is current and trendy. I would have just filed it away in the c. 1990’s bin with Cameron and company.

      1. Totally. I knew Camdens in high school, even. I feel this way about a lot of names-Jackson, Cade, Hunter, Weston, etc. These names definitely had a presence in the Southern states long before they started really climbing the charts nationwide.

  4. I used to have Camden on my favorites list (as a boys’ name) when I was in college.

    I can see why it wouldn’t work if you live anywhere near Camden, New Jersey. But otherwise, it’s rather nice-sounding (albeit a bit trendy).

    For those of you pooh-poohing it, would it help to know that it’s the GIVEN name of an admirable character in a major work of Victorian literature? Mr. Camden Farebrother is the intelligent, kind-hearted vicar in George Eliot’s Middlemarch.