Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Casey

Casey is derived from a common old Irish-Gaelic name Cathasach which means “vigilant” (particularly when at war). It has been quietly used in Ireland for centuries, and then made famous in the United States in the early 1900s by “The Ballad of Casey Jones”, a melody which told the story of a brave locomotive engineer’s collision with another freight train (sacrificing his own life in the interest of saving another) raising him to levels of folk hero status in America. Casey has since become a unisex name and is generally used for both genders. Currently, Casey is the 86th most popular girl’s name in Northern Ireland. In the United States, Casey is more popular for boys than for girls but is used freely on either gender.

All About the Baby Name – Casey

Personality

OF THE UNISEX NAME CASEY

The number Eight personality has everything to do with power, wealth and abundance. Somehow, this personality has been blessed on the material plane, but their authoritative and problem-solving traits provide evidence that their good fortunes are not just the luck of the lottery. They are well earned. This is the personality of CEOs and high-ranking military personnel. Eights are intensely active, hard-driving individuals. Success is only meaningful to them after a job well-done.  They are remarkable in their ability to see the larger picture right down to the smallest details, and organize a strategy around success. They then have the ability to direct a group around them toward any goal, and realize individual potential to get the most out of their team.

Popularity

OF THE UNISEX NAME CASEY

The name Casey was first used on little boys starting in the late 1800s, but didn’t really stick to the charts until 1908 (right around the time that The Ballad of Casey Jones was gaining nationwide popularity on vaudeville). After the name’s brief pop-culture influence, it went back into hibernation and dropped off the male naming charts throughout the 1920s and 30s. Casey returned to the charts again in 1944 and this time showed impressive growth in usage. By 1978, Casey was a Top 100 favorite boy’s name. Meanwhile, on the female naming charts, the name made her debut in 1967, shadowing the success of her male counterpart. Never quite as popular for girls as the name has been for boys, it is still one of those truly androgynous unisex names that works equally well on boys and girls. Clearly, for both sexes, the height of Casey’s popularity was the 1980s. However, as we’ve turned into this new century, Casey has fallen from fashion and is no longer a heavily used name. Even though Casey is a bonafide Irish given name, it feels like a nickname which gives it an informal and casual quality. It definitely works on either gender thanks to successful usage on both sides of the sexes. It’s sweet yet cool on a boy; and cute yet slightly tom-boyish for a girl.

Quick Facts

ON CASEY

GENDER:

Unisex

ORIGIN:

Celtic

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

N/A

PRONUNCIATION:

KAY-see

SIMPLE MEANING:

Vigilant

Characteristics

OF CASEY

Authoritative

Powerful

Tough

Tenacious

Wealthy

Problem-solver

Achiever

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Casey

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME CASEY

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Casey

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME CASEY

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Casey


Popular Songs

ON CASEY

The Ballad of Casey Jones
an old folksong about the famous railroad engineer

Casey Jones
a song by Johnny Cash

Casey
a song by Jupiter Sunrise

Famous People

NAMED CASEY

Casey Affleck (actor)
Kemal "Casey" Kasem (radio personality)
Charles "Casey" Stengel (baseball player)
John Luther "Casey" Jones (railroad engineer)
Casey Attwood (racecar driver)
Casey Abrams (American Idol contestant)
Casey Anthony (notorious)
Casey Blake (baseball player)
Casey Dellacqua (Australian tennis player)
Casey Fossum (baseball player)
Casey Hampton (football player)
Casey Kotchman (baseball player)
Casey McGehee (baseball player)
Casey Mears (racecar driver)
Casey Rabach (football player)
Casey Affleck (actor)
Kemal "Casey" Kasem (radio personality)
Charles "Casey" Stengel (baseball player)
John Luther "Casey" Jones (railroad engineer)
Casey Attwood (racecar driver)
Casey Abrams (American Idol contestant)
Casey Anthony (notorious)
Casey Blake (baseball player)
Casey Dellacqua (Australian tennis player)
Casey Fossum (baseball player)
Casey Hampton (football player)
Casey Kotchman (baseball player)
Casey McGehee (baseball player)
Casey Mears (racecar driver)
Casey Rabach (football player)
Casey Affleck (actor)
Kemal "Casey" Kasem (radio personality)
Charles "Casey" Stengel (baseball player)
John Luther "Casey" Jones (railroad engineer)
Casey Attwood (racecar driver)
Casey Abrams (American Idol contestant)
Casey Anthony (notorious)
Casey Blake (baseball player)
Casey Dellacqua (Australian tennis player)
Casey Fossum (baseball player)
Casey Hampton (football player)
Casey Kotchman (baseball player)
Casey McGehee (baseball player)
Casey Mears (racecar driver)
Casey Rabach (football player)

Children of Famous People

NAMED CASEY

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Casey

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME CASEY

Casey Jones is arguably the most famous railroad engineer in American history. He was made famous by an epic folksong called “The Ballad of Casey Jones” (written in tribute by a black engine wiper who had been a devoted friend to Jones). Casey Jones actually received his nickname from the town from which he hailed, Cayce, Kentucky. He was a loveable, teetotaling Irish family man known for his signature whistle sound which let the people know it was him blowing through their towns. On the night of April 29 and early morning of April 30, 1900, Casey Jones was a last minute substitute for another engine driver who wasn’t feeling well. Doubling back from where he came, Casey was on a light “Cannonball” train with only his fireman as a fellow passenger. Intent on getting to his destination in record time, his train was going at 70 miles an hour around a blind curve. Up ahead on the tracks was a stalled freight train. Casey Jones told his fireman to jump, and he collided into the caboose while holding the train’s throttle in one hand and the whistle in the other. His friend Wallace Saunders immortalized him in song which quickly spread the country (especially after vaudeville musicians adopted it) and Casey became a folk hero. The lyrics sing in part: “May his spirit live forever throughout the land / As the greatest of all heroes of a railroad man.”

Casey Jones is arguably the most famous railroad engineer in American history. He was made famous by an epic folksong called “The Ballad of Casey Jones” (written in tribute by a black engine wiper who had been a devoted friend to Jones). Casey Jones actually received his nickname from the town from which he hailed, Cayce, Kentucky. He was a loveable, teetotaling Irish family man known for his signature whistle sound which let the people know it was him blowing through their towns. On the night of April 29 and early morning of April 30, 1900, Casey Jones was a last minute substitute for another engine driver who wasn’t feeling well. Doubling back from where he came, Casey was on a light “Cannonball” train with only his fireman as a fellow passenger. Intent on getting to his destination in record time, his train was going at 70 miles an hour around a blind curve. Up ahead on the tracks was a stalled freight train. Casey Jones told his fireman to jump, and he collided into the caboose while holding the train’s throttle in one hand and the whistle in the other. His friend Wallace Saunders immortalized him in song which quickly spread the country (especially after vaudeville musicians adopted it) and Casey became a folk hero. The lyrics sing in part: “May his spirit live forever throughout the land / As the greatest of all heroes of a railroad man.”

Casey Jones is arguably the most famous railroad engineer in American history. He was made famous by an epic folksong called “The Ballad of Casey Jones” (written in tribute by a black engine wiper who had been a devoted friend to Jones). Casey Jones actually received his nickname from the town from which he hailed, Cayce, Kentucky. He was a loveable, teetotaling Irish family man known for his signature whistle sound which let the people know it was him blowing through their towns. On the night of April 29 and early morning of April 30, 1900, Casey Jones was a last minute substitute for another engine driver who wasn’t feeling well. Doubling back from where he came, Casey was on a light “Cannonball” train with only his fireman as a fellow passenger. Intent on getting to his destination in record time, his train was going at 70 miles an hour around a blind curve. Up ahead on the tracks was a stalled freight train. Casey Jones told his fireman to jump, and he collided into the caboose while holding the train’s throttle in one hand and the whistle in the other. His friend Wallace Saunders immortalized him in song which quickly spread the country (especially after vaudeville musicians adopted it) and Casey became a folk hero. The lyrics sing in part: “May his spirit live forever throughout the land / As the greatest of all heroes of a railroad man.”