This thread is really just a reflection I’m putting out for some feedback. I’m not considering the name [name]Caden[/name]; in fact, I dislike it as part of the infamous “-ayden” trend. But I believe I’ve come to see it’s more than a name invented out of the blue as a rhyming cousin.
I was surfing a homemaking blog the other day when I stumbled across a birthday post for the owner’s then-2-year-old son, [name]Caden[/name] [name]Nathaniel[/name]. As I said, I dislike the name, but I took a second look because [name]Caden[/name] seemed an interesting choice for this family. The other children are [name]Abigail[/name], [name]Johanna[/name], and Kepler (boy.) [name]Caden[/name] didn’t really seem to fit.
[name]Stephanie[/name], the owner of the blog, wrote that they chose [name]Caden[/name] because it means “warrior” or “strong in battle,” and her husband thought it was a strong name. That gave me pause. [name]One[/name] of my main reasons for disliking [name]Caden[/name] was that it had no history and no substance. So I hauled out my baby name books and checked a couple of websites, looking for answers. I already knew Nameberry lists [name]Caden[/name] as being a modern invented name with no meaning.
I discovered how the meaning could be interpreted as “warrior” or “battle,” since the Welsh element “cad” means “battle” and is seen in such names as [name]Cadell[/name], [name]Cadogan[/name] and their variants. If you consider the name [name]Cade[/name] as a version of one of these names, which is disputed but possible, it’s easy to arrive at [name]Caden[/name] from [name]Cade[/name]. On the other hand, I also discovered the name [name]Kadin[/name], which some sources hail as the source of [name]Caden[/name] and list either as a modern invented name or as an Arabic name meaning “friend, counselor, or confidant.”
In conclusion, I like the weblike family tree diagram I discovered here: http://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Caden/m. Yes, [name]Caden[/name] may be a modern invented name. But it’s the rare name that has no cloud of ancestors, and a derivation is seldom as simple as the statement that a name was invented in the 1990’s as a variation on a rhyming megatrend. Some parents probably invented [name]Caden[/name] themselves, but the name does have a history, and some parents have done a little more research. As a result of mine, I have a little more respect for [name]Caden[/name]. Your thoughts?
My thoughts are that one of many spurious baby names websites, or books, listed this meaning for [name]Caden[/name]. The parents were already drawn to the sound and spelling, and this random source telling them it does, in fact, have roots and a deeper etymological meaning dispelled their last lingering objections towards using it.
I agree they probably found the meaning in a random baby name book; there are so many out there that have apparently been sloppily researched, or that only list one meaning when the name originated in several languages, etc.
I just wanted to point out that there’s more to the story of [name]Caden[/name] than a modern invention. On behindthename.com, where most of the commentators condemned [name]Caden[/name] as a trendy, tacky modern choice, one user who had named a son [name]Caden[/name] claimed it was a family name going back several generations. Clearly it originated somewhere, sometime, earlier than the '90’s.
Interesting find. I definitely may look at [name]Caden[/name] differently now. It just goes to show that I think some people (including myself sometimes. Yes, I’m guilty…) hear it aloud and think, “rhyming -aden trend? Tacky!” but don’t look into the history or meaning of the name.
However, I’d be careful to where any information I get on a name comes from. I’ve seen many a baby name book that was littered with misinformation, not to mention the conflicting meanings (and even assigned genders) of names across websites. I guess I’d go with which meaning tends to be in the majority.
Well, I definitely look at [name]Caden[/name] differently now! It still follows the trend, and could be made-up, but the possibility that it has ties to other names (and therefore being legitimate) makes me respect it all the more. [name]Caden[/name] is still one of my least favorite aiden names, I just don’t like the [name]Cade[/name] sound at all, but I do appreciate it a bit more now.
I wouldn’t have strong feelings either way for it, except that it put the kibosh on a long time favorite of mine, [name]Caedmon[/name]. [name]One[/name] in a long line of reasons I was relieved to find out I was having a girl
Thanks for the comments.
southern.maple, the fact that [name]Caden[/name] is also a surname might be the reason for its several-generation usage in a family; and its evolution as a surname-turned-first-name might be completely different from its rise as a trendy rhyming first name.
tk., I love [name]Caedmon[/name] too! (Did you see my sig?) But while I don’t think I’d use it as a first name, it isn’t so much because of its similarity to [name]Caden[/name] as its potential spelling and pronunciation issues. I am not switching to the [name]Cadman[/name] spelling to make things easier.
