Cassius

Meaning of Cassius

Cassius, pronounced KASH-uhs (IPA /ˈkæʃəs/), is the Anglicized form of a distinguished Roman family name whose etymology most authorities derive from the Latin cassus, “empty” or “hollow,” though an Etruscan origin remains a competing hypothesis, rendering its semantic core intriguingly opaque. The name first entered historical record through Gaius Cassius Longinus—principal architect of Julius Caesar’s assassination—and, by way of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, became emblematic of political acuity and measured dissent; subsequent classical figures such as the historian Cassius Dio and the philosopher-rhetorician Cassius Longinus fortified its scholarly aura. Carried into American consciousness when heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.—himself named for the nineteenth-century abolitionist—Cassius accrued layers of cultural resonance linking it to eloquence, activism, and self-determination. National birth data reveal a slow but steady resurgence: after hovering in the lower tiers for much of the twentieth century, annual registrations rose from double digits in the mid-1990s to over five hundred in 2024, nudging the name into the upper half of the U.S. Top 1000. For contemporary parents, Cassius thus presents a masculine choice that fuses classical gravitas with a modern narrative of principled conviction.

Pronunciation

American English

• Pronunced as KAH-shus (/ˈkæʃəs/)

British English

• Pronunced as KASH-uhs (/ˈkæʃəs/)

• Cassian
• Callum
• Cassiel
• Caius
• Cyrus
• Caspian
• Castiel