Cable

♂ Boy

Pronounced KAY-bul /ˈkeɪbəl/Medium

Meaning: Cable is the ordinary English word for a heavy rope or bundled wire, from the Old North French cable and Late Latin capulum, 'a halter or rope.' It also long existed as an occupational surname for a rope-maker, and it is that word-and-surname that is borrowed here as a boy's first name.Low

In 30 seconds: Cable is the English word and surname 'a thick rope or wire,' used as a boy's name. It stayed rare and peaked around 2019 (said KAY-bul).

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Origin LowEnglish

MeaningCable is the ordinary English word for a heavy rope or bundled wire, from the Old North French cable and Late Latin capulum, 'a halter or rope.' It also long existed as an occupational surname for a rope-maker, and it is that word-and-surname that is borrowed here as a boy's first name.

U.S. rank (2020)#8863 ↘ Falling

2020 U.S. births8 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year2019

Total births (all-time)≈ 170

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Cable is a true word-name: the everyday English cable, 'a heavy rope or wire,' from Old North French cable and Late Latin capulum, 'halter.' As a surname it marked a rope-maker or someone who lived by a ferry cable. Its use as a given name is modern, part of the taste for sturdy one-syllable occupational surnames like Cash, Colt and Chase.

It has never been common, given to only about sixteen boys a year even at its recent peak around 2019, and it remains a genuine rarity. A boy named Cable today is likely a young child.

Did you know? Cable is best known to many families as the time-traveling Marvel mutant Cable, which helped a plain word-and-surname read as a usable boy's first name in recent decades.

Overall data confidence 42%

References - Cable — English word/surname 'rope, wire' (Old North French cable); modern given-name use

Variations

KableCabellCabel

Nicknames

CabCabe

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Cable…

Cash— a like one-syllable word-and-surname name

Colt— a similar rugged modern boy's name

Chase— a like occupational surname turned first name

Gage— a similar short surname-style name

Explore names like Cable

By thememodern rare word-name surname

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Cable mean?

It is the English word and surname Cable, 'a thick rope or wire,' borrowed as a given name.

How do you pronounce Cable?

It is said KAY-bul /ˈkeɪbəl/, two syllables with the stress on the first.

Is Cable a boy or girl name?

Cable is used here as a boy's name.

How popular is Cable?

It has always been rare, given to only about sixteen boys a year at its peak in the late twenty-tens.