Name of the Week: Caspian

 

Origin:

Caspian was created as a given name by C.S. Lewis for his 1951 children's novel Prince Caspian; the second in his The Chronicles of Narnia series. Lewis may have created it as a blend of Casper or Cassius with Crispian or Cassian, or he may have taken the name directly from the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea itself takes its name from the tribe who lived in the region in antiquity, who were known as the Kaspioi to the Greeks. Caspian is the anglicised version of this.

Usage:

The first Caspian to be registered in the England and Wales Birth Index (dating from 1834) was in 1967. The second, in early 1968, was film screenwriter Caspian Tredwell Owen. That this was sixteen years after the publication of Prince Caspian it can perhaps be assumed that the parents who chose the name in the late 60s were drawing on a beloved book character from their childhood.  Caspians were registered in the following years in England and Wales: 1967 1 birth 1968 3 births  1971 4 births 1972 4 births 1973 3 births 1975 1 birth 1977 2 births 1978 2 birth 1980 1 birth 1981 1 birth 1982 1 birth 1984 2 births 1985 1 birth 1986 2 births 1987 2 births 1988 2 births 1989 3 births From 1996 onward, Caspian saw a slow increase in usage, though remained below the top 1000. It began a more marked and steady rise from 2008 thanks to the film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian starring Ben Barnes in the title role.  Caspian first entered the top 1000 in 2013 at #954 (30 births) and has been rising ever since.  In 2018, Caspian reached #535 with 72 births in England and Wales: its highest number ever recorded.  Since 1974, Caspian has only been registered in the following years in Scotland, most of them following the release of the film adaptation of Prince Caspian: 1998 1 birth 2012 1 birth 2013 2 births 2014 2 births 2015 1 birth 2016 1 birth 2017 1 birth 2018 4 births In 2018, Caspian ranked #595 with 4 births in Scotland—also its highest rank to date.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Caspian Tredwell-Owen (born 1969), British screenwriter.  * Caspian Feild (b. 2012), son of actors Neve Campbell and JJ Field. Literature and Other Media: * Prince Caspian, a character in C.S.Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. * Caspian Vander, character in the Sleepy Hollow Trilogy by Jessica Verday. * Caspian, a character on TV's Highlander: The Series.

Variants:

Kaspian (Scandinavian)

Pronunciation:

KASP-ee-ən [key]

Possible diminutives:

Cass, Kip

Sibling Names:

Athena     Verity     Emmeline     Henrietta     Sylvia     Vivienne Orion     Atlas     Dorian     Atticus     Orlando     Xavier

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance

 

If you like Caspian you may also like:   Cassian, Tarquin, Cassius, Tristram, Cedric, Montague, Edison, Percy, Maximilian, Crispin

Thanks to Anne for requesting this name.