Tracing the Cady Family Name

Cady began as a Scottish family name. The usual explanation, from Elsdon Smith, is “descendant of little Cadda (battle)”.

Surname origin

It is a patronymic: it named a person after a father or forebear.

In the records

The 2010 US Census counted 9,084 people named Cady, ranking it number 3,910 among American surnames. It sits among the 5,000 most common last names in the country. Between 1891 and 2000, 615 babies born in France were registered as Cady, with the most births in 1981–1990.

Cady coat of arms

Heraldry is personal. Arms recorded for a Cady family belonged to that family, and other bearers of the name may have no link to them.

For the full story, order the Cady surname pack.