Fun Facts About the Name Case
- More than 9 thousand babies named Case: U.S. records list 9,924 babies given the name Case from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Case Mean?
Case is an English family name, now also used as a first name, and its established sense is occupational: a maker or seller of boxes, chests, and cases. The word behind it is Middle English cas (also written casse), borrowed from Old French casse, "box, chest, case," which comes from Latin capsa, a container. Someone who carried the surname would originally have been identified by that trade rather than by a place or a father's name. The ordinary English noun case kept the same container meaning, so the surname and the common word share one source.
A second, separate line of use exists on the continent. In Dutch- and Low German-speaking areas, Case and the shorter Cas appear as personal names, usually as familiar forms of Caspar. That derivation has nothing to do with boxes or chests, and for a given name in an English-speaking country the occupational surname is the likelier source.
Case Name History & Origins
The surname is medieval English. Occupational names of this kind were common in the Middle Ages and generally became hereditary by the late medieval period, so a family named Case would descend from an ancestor who made or sold boxes or chests. It is distinct from Casey, which comes from the Irish surname Ó Cathasaigh, "descendant of Cathasach," and shares no origin with Case despite the similar sound.
Case as a first name is a much later development. It belongs to the modern practice, particularly in the United States, of moving surnames into first-name position, so that a name once describing a trade now stands on its own as a given name. This use is uncommon next to Casey or other surname-style first names.
On the continent, Cas has a longer history as an independent given name, chiefly as a short form of Caspar, and Case is occasionally found alongside it. The English surname tradition and the continental personal-name tradition are separate, and in English-speaking use the surname origin is the usual one.
How Popular is the Name Case?
Case recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2014. Its best rank was #468 in 2014.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #733 | 359 | 0.0210% |
| 2024 | #722 | 362 | 0.0211% |
| 2023 | #715 | 372 | 0.0218% |
| 2022 | #650 | 426 | 0.0244% |
| 2021 | #629 | 438 | 0.0251% |
| 2020 | #576 | 482 | 0.0279% |
| 2019 | #544 | 517 | 0.0288% |
| 2018 | #508 | 560 | 0.0308% |
| 2017 | #601 | 442 | 0.0239% |
| 2016 | #554 | 518 | 0.0273% |
| 2015 | #542 | 527 | 0.0275% |
| 2014 | #468 | 623 | 0.0324% |
| 2013 | #507 | 531 | 0.0281% |
| 2012 | #504 | 527 | 0.0278% |
| 2011 | #671 | 352 | 0.0185% |
| 2010 | #708 | 329 | 0.0171% |
| 2009 | #853 | 250 | 0.0126% |
| 2008 | #966 | 207 | 0.0101% |
| 2007 | #940 | 211 | 0.0102% |
| 2006 | #949 | 196 | 0.0095% |
| 2005 | #1,117 | 147 | 0.0074% |
| 2004 | #1,133 | 139 | 0.0070% |
| 2003 | #1,233 | 117 | 0.0059% |
| 2002 | #1,090 | 136 | 0.0070% |
| 2001 | #1,357 | 94 | 0.0048% |
| 2000 | #1,432 | 86 | 0.0044% |
| 1999 | #1,311 | 92 | 0.0048% |
| 1998 | #1,478 | 75 | 0.0039% |
| 1997 | #1,439 | 75 | 0.0040% |
| 1996 | #1,554 | 64 | 0.0034% |
| 1995 | #1,844 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 1994 | #2,049 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 1993 | #2,128 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 1992 | #2,134 | 36 | 0.0018% |
| 1991 | #2,478 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 1990 | #1,976 | 38 | 0.0019% |
| 1989 | #1,956 | 37 | 0.0018% |
| 1988 | #1,883 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 1987 | #1,796 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1986 | #1,730 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 1985 | #1,871 | 31 | 0.0017% |
| 1984 | #1,847 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 1983 | #2,282 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1982 | #2,347 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1981 | #2,917 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1980 | #2,847 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1979 | #3,386 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1978 | #3,087 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1977 | #4,224 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #2,521 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 1975 | #3,272 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1974 | #2,686 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1973 | #3,754 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #3,189 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1971 | #2,475 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1970 | #4,307 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #3,646 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1968 | #3,415 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #4,044 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #3,991 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #3,660 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #4,127 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1961 | #3,695 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #4,117 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1959 | #4,071 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Case Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Case's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Case's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.