Cassidy

Cassidy first entered the American charts as a female name in 1981. The name made some jumps up the charts very quickly and enjoyed moderate success for most of the 1980s. Cassidy jumped another 200 positions on the charts from 1993 to 1994 likely influenced by the popular TV entertainer Kathie-Lee Gifford who named her daughter Cassidy Erin Gifford in 1993. For one brief year (1999), Cassidy even managed to gain a spot on the Top 100 list of most commonly used girl names. However, since the turn of the 21st century, this name has been showing backwards momentum. It should be noted as well that Cassidy was used as a male name and appeared on the U.S. naming charts for boys from 1983 to 1992. No longer considered unisex, Cassidy is pretty much exclusively given to baby girls now. Cassidy was probably also a favorite among Dead Heads (fans of the Grateful Dead) since the band often performed their song “Cassidy” in their many concerts nationwide. The song goes in part: “Ah child of countless trees, ah child of boundless seas. / What are you, what are you meant to be? / Speaks his name for you were born to me, / Born to me, Cassidy.” And the song ends: “Fare thee well now, let your life proceed by its own design. / Nothing to tell now, let the words be yours, I’m done with mine.” Does your curly-haired little baby look like a Cassidy?