FastNamesCameron
Scottish and Celtic name meaning "Derived from Scottish Gaelic cam-shròn, a descriptive compound of cam ('crooked', 'bent') and sròn ('nose'), originally a Highland clan moniker.". Ranked 76th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Cameron
Derived from Scottish Gaelic cam-shròn, a descriptive compound of cam ('crooked', 'bent') and sròn ('nose'), originally a Highland clan moniker.
Linguistically, Cameron is classified under Scottish and Celtic naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "KAM-ər-ən".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Cameron has been given to a total of 312,661 boys. It has also been given to 32,235 girls.
Peak year: Cameron reached its highest relative share among boys in 2000, when 12,767 babies received the name (6,501 per million births).
All-time best rank: 31st place, first achieved in 2000.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 76th with 4,348 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 56th (down 20 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Cameron in the 2000s than in any other decade (95,898 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 30 |
| 1890s | 34 |
| 1900s | 49 |
| 1910s | 276 |
| 1920s | 530 |
| 1930s | 388 |
| 1940s | 607 |
| 1950s | 1,810 |
| 1960s | 3,651 |
| 1970s | 8,032 |
| 1980s | 24,598 |
| 1990s | 81,131 |
| 2000s | 95,898 |
| 2010s | 66,206 |
| 2020s | 29,421 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Cameron is most common in the US
Accounting for when Cameron was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- New Hampshire: 2.1 times the national rate (2,118 births since 1910).
- Maine: 1.9 times the national rate (1,876 births since 1910).
- Rhode Island: 1.6 times the national rate (1,453 births since 1910).
- Massachusetts: 1.6 times the national rate (9,731 births since 1910).
- North Carolina: 1.5 times the national rate (13,710 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Cameron?
About 303,000 living American boys and men share the name Cameron. Additionally, an estimated 31,500 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Cameron is 23 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Cameron
Cameron originated as a Scottish Highland clan surname rooted in the Gaelic nickname Cam-shròn, composed of cam ('crooked' or 'hooked') and sròn ('nose' or 'beak'). Highland Gaelic naming traditions often employed physical descriptors to distinguish branch leaders; Clan Cameron was one of the most formidable and historic fighting clans of the Lochaber region, celebrated for their martial valor and loyalty to the Stuart monarchs.
The surname was borne by notable Scottish figures including Richard Cameron (1648–1680), the Covenanter leader whose followers formed the Cameronian regiment in the British Army. As Scottish emigrants settled throughout North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Cameron began to be adopted as a masculine given name honoring ancestral heritage and clan affiliations.
In late twentieth-century American vital statistics, Cameron transformed into a prominent mainstream choice. Surging rapidly through the 1980s, it entered the national top fifty for boys in 1995 and remained a consistent favorite for three decades. Simultaneously, Cameron emerged as a fashionable unisex name, boosted in popular culture by actresses like Cameron Diaz and director James Cameron.
Notable people named Cameron
- Cameron Diaz (1972–), American actress and author
- Cameron Crowe (1957–), American filmmaker and Academy Award-winning screenwriter
- Cameron Boyce (1999–2019), American actor known for Jessie and Descendants
- Cameron Smith (1993–), Australian professional golfer and 2022 Open Championship winner
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 46.
- George Fraser Black. The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History (1946), p. 128.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.