Name of the day: Cedar

cedar trees

Cedars are tall, coniferous trees are known for their fragrant, durable wood. They are native to the mountains of the Himalayan and Mediterranean regions.

The word cedar is ultimately derived from the Greek word kedros, which referred both to cedar and to juniper.

Cedar has never ranked among the most popular U.S. baby names, but I know of two children (so far) with this next-generation nature name — one boy, one girl.

Update, Jan. 2023: Usage of the baby name Cedar is on the rise! Check it out:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Cedar in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Cedar

Image: Adapted from Cedrus deodara Manali 2 by Paul Evans under CC BY 2.0.

29 thoughts on “Name of the day: Cedar

  1. I have also named my daughter Cedar – 5/7/04 – We named her after my father in law – who owns 100 acres of Cedar trees, builds Cedar cabins, Cedar chests, closets, you name it, and would basically marry a Cedar tree if he could.

    We still love the name – 3 years running – and are now looking for a [unique] name for her sibling (boy or girl – we’re waiting to find out!)….

  2. Love the name Cedar for a girl… wondering about a middle name to go with it!?

    I’ve thought of Cedar Rain and Cedar Sky but also would like to consider more conventional names…

    any suggestions?

  3. I would avoid anything that starts with an s-sound (Sky, Susan, Celine) or an R (Rain, Rose, Rachel).

    Those sounds (or a D) elsewhere in the name might be nice, though — for example: Grace, Andrea, Adrienne, Larissa, Kirsten, Deborah, Diane, Audra, Ariel, Audrey, Drea.

    I also like the idea of a simple, one-syllable middle with Cedar — something like Jane, Jill or Lynn.

    And, of course, there are the super-traditional middles like Marie/Maria and Anne/Anna.

    Are any of these along the lines of what you’re looking for?

  4. Hi everyone.
    I just wanted to say that my name is Cedar. I was googling my name and saw this site, and it made me sooo excited! I’ve never met anyone with my name, although I’ve heard of people with it. I’m currently 14 years old.
    I used to hate my name becasue it was so different, but now I’m coming to love it. It’s so unique and original, you know? For as many people who have asked me if my parents were hippies, there were twice as many people who told me they thought my name was beautiful. I was named Cedar becasue there is a Cedar Avenue where I live. In our community it is a historical street that is very busy and which daily life often surrounds. I just wanted to say that, well, I exist.

    P.S. I’m a girl! Often times people are confused with the name Cedar becasue they don’t know if it’s a masculine or feminine name. But all the people I’ve heard of with the name have been girls. So you might not want to name your boy Cedar…

  5. Just wanted to say we’ve got a baby girl named Cedar. Love the name and we’ve received many, many compliments.

  6. I have a daughter named Cedar Caroline and she i s 4 years old. Her name fits her perfectly. She loves her name and so do I. We get many compliments, often times when people can’t remember her name they call her Sage,,,strange, but it happens!

  7. Hey everyone ! My name is also Cedar and I have only met two people with the name Cedar. I am 13 and I was named Cedar because my parents had met a girl named Cedar, and they loved the name. Also, my mom used to go to a place called Cedar Crest Camp all the time when she was little, and it’s very special to her and her family. For the people who were wanting a middle name for Cedar- mine is Elizabeth because that’s what my mom’s is. I also get numerous compliments on my name- people say it’s beautiful, cool, pretty, and other things. I love my name, and to all of the Cedars in the world- WE ROCK ! :)
    P.S. I have a class assignment where I had to find the meaning of my name, and I realized that there a lot more Cedars in the world now !

  8. My wife’s name is Cedar. She’s 33. When she was younger she had only two other counts of people named Cedar. One was a musician (older) and a younger boy in Edmond, OK. She didn’t like her name when she was younger but loved it starting in middle school. She is an individual and the name is almost as beautiful as her. Our third child continues the name and she’ll love it when she starts school.

  9. We just named our baby boy Cedar. People seem to love the name. It is a gender neutral name (there are also a woman and a dog named Cedar in our neighbourhood :)), but we think that it suits our little guy really well. We just let people know that he is a boy if they seem confused. Two famous “Cedars” are Cedar Walton (a jazz pianist) and Cedar Wright (a climber and filmmaker)…

  10. My name is Cedar as well. My dad is an amateur carpenter and loves working with cedar wood, hence the name. I get asked all the time if my parents are hippies, which they never were, and as I live in France now it’s rather difficult for the locals to understand or pronounce my name.
    I’ve met a few others, but only 2 or 3 and they were all girls. My middle name is Whitney, I’m not exactly sure it’s a combination I would have picked, but a W middle name does go pretty well with Cedar. Anyway, it’s a good name to have, different, and people tend to remember it :)

  11. We named our daughter Cedar as well (she is now 3). When my wife was pregnant, we had a different name picked out. The night before she went into labor, she had an overwhelming feeling that our daughter was talking to her. She went into labor the next morning. Before we went to the hospital, my wife told me “I have something to tell you. Last night, our daughter came to me and told me what she wants to be called, and it’s not the name that we picked out. She wants to be called Cedar.” That’s not a name that we ever considered or even ever heard. I told her that we’d wait till she was born, and then we’d look at her and make the decision. And when she born, sure enough, she was a Cedar. Can’t explain it. It was just right.
    I’ve learned of several other Cedars since she was born. All native American.

  12. Our 14mth old daughter is named Cedar Marie. Marie after her grandmother. I loved the name because it also symbolized different areas from where my family is from where Cedar’s grow and I love the trees characteristics. It’s nice to see a lot more Cedars out there! I have heard of 3 kids with the same name. A boy and a girl in BC and a girl in Ontario.

  13. My name is Cedar as well! People always tell me what a unique name it is and why my parents named me that.. There simply is no answer. My parents thought it would be a good idea and I love my name! P.S. I’m a boy even though there seem to be many girls named Cedar.

  14. Our 4 year old is named Cedar. A girl. Cedar Priya. We got Cedar from a little girl I used to care for years and years ago, I just loved it, and Priya, which means beloved, after my grandmother Priscilla. We get tons and tons of compliments, every time we tell someone her name.

  15. My name is Cedar, I’m a 27 year old female. I honestly have never met anyone yet with the same name as me. I randomly googled my name and I’m surprised how many people actually do share the name. My grandfather named me, he is of Lebanese background so my mame Cedar icame from the Cedars of Lebanon. It is a very special name and I’m proud it’s mine.:)

  16. my name is also Cedar! Cedar ann that is….. I am 31 years old and still have yet to personally meet anybody with my name.I have met a few people on facebook with the same name. I am also asked if my parents were hippies. My father is a truck driver and had seen the name and a lot of different places and my mother was a fan of a country singer named Skeeter Davis so they can bind and came up with my name. as most of you probably know that have the same name school was not much fun the things that will rhyme with our names. Now that I am much older I always hear how beautiful my name is. somebody told me that there is somebody name Cedar in my town and I was also told that there is a boy named cedar in a town about 40 minutes away. I just wanted to throw out my middle name is well in case you like cedar an frame middle name just throwing ideas out. just please don’t do cedar Peter! Oh I could go on and on. nice to know that there are more people with such a cool name. the only bad thing is its so one common that when people know you they know you. Lol not like a jeff or jim or Amber. :)

  17. My name is Cedar Elizabeth, I’m a 31 yr old female. My sister had this rag doll my aunt made her and for some reason decided to name it Cedar and my dad really liked the name. Probably wouldn’t have been the name I would have chosen, but oh well

  18. My name is Cedar as well! I have met 2 Cedar’s when travelling in Australia and 4 in Brazil!

  19. My name is Cedar and I am a 19 year old girl :) I’ve never met anyone with my name before but Iove it. My parents gave me Sioux as a middle name and that is unique aswell. I’m a photographer and I named my business after my name: Cedar Sioux Photography. It was pretty easy making a unique name for myself when I already have a unique name. All you Cedar’s out there are awesome!

  20. I am currently 5 months pregnant with our second son. Our first son is named River Paul (Paul after a family member) — I’m constantly getting compliments on Rivers name but with that comes pressure for the second sons name…. My husband is in love with the name Cedar! I started googling it and I stumbled across this blog. It was nice that people love the name…. Although many girl named Cedar…. I am worried he will hate it or get teased but I am assuming it is a boys name as well?! We are not hippies either lol just enjoy a more unique name and need something to go with River :) thanks for all the blogs! Loved reading about all the Cedars!

  21. Melissa Schuyler just wondering what you decided? Our eldest is a boy named River (nearly 8yo) and we’re considering Cedar for our new baby boy but after reading this page I’m worrying its too much of a girls’ name?!
    Cheers :)

  22. Go for it with a boys name. :) yes I am a girl and I commented on this a long time ago. I’m the one with the story of cedarann and my dad being a truck driver. Of course you can imagine anything that rhymes with this name is going to be used at least it was when I was a kid Cedar Peter and so on. One thing I do ask parents if you have a boy do not consider Walnut. Lol I say this because if I would have been a boy that would have been my name of course I thought they were joking to my surprise they were not thank goodness I was a girl and got cedar Ann. Love my name now. We have a son and we named him Keenan. I was trying to find something kids could not really rhyme with. Lol

  23. I love this name! To me it looks like a boy’s name but sound like a girl’s name. So I do prefer it for a girl.

  24. We are considering Cedar for our third as a gender neutral option. I think it makes a nice name, boy or girl. We seem to have started a tree theme with names; my eldest is Rowan Patrick and my middle is Willow Katheryn. We are having a hard time deciding on a middle name for the girl option. My first two got my sister and brother’s name for middle names.

  25. My grandson’s name is Cedar. He is 16 months old. At first I didn’t like it but now it suits him perfectly. I have three grandsons (all brothers). My son’s initials are C.A.S. and all boys have the same initial. Cedar’s middle name is Atlas. I don’t know where they found the name. However, we live in the Great Smokey Mountains and my son is a golf course superintendent and looks at a lot of cedars. It is a beautiful name for a girl too.

  26. I really love the name cedar. I have only heard this name once. I love it more for a girl but I like it on a boy too. I like that cedar is a biblical name.

  27. My name is also Cedar! I am surprised there are quite a few of us out there! I am now 23 and my mother wanted to name me something unique after naming my older brother Canon. She also couldn’t decide between Cedar or Casidy so my name is Cedar Casidy. My mom calls me C.C sometimes for short. I am a nurse and everyday I have to introduce myself as “Cedar, like the tree” due to some of the confused looks patients give me. I have yet to meet another Cedar in person but hoping it one day will happen.

  28. Hiii my name is also cedar and I am 15 and from australia. I used to hate my name but now I’m growing to like it and it just hit me that there are other people with my name ahaha does anyone else find that crazy

  29. @ Cedar from Australia

    I think if you have a fairly unique name, or spelling, it’s actually normal to feel like you are the only one with your name. I’ve lived and traveled throughout the US and only encountered someone else with my name twice, but I know we aren’t the only three Ellyns out there.

    The first time was especially odd as we were both volunteering for a big charity event and not only did we have the same first name, but our last names started with the same letter. So for the first – and maybe only – time in our lives we had to put our full names on name tags, programs & raffle tickets!

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