Kayce means vigilant — the K-CE variant of Casey, with a Y replacing the second vowel. Yellowstone's Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) is one of TV's most beloved modern cowboys. The Y-in-the-middle and CE-ending create a distinctive frontier identity. Same Irish watchfulness, Yellowstone ranch energy.
Kayce is a K-Y-CE variant of Casey meaning vigilant. Yellowstone (2018–present) features Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton — one of TV's most popular modern cowboys. The unique spelling creates a frontier-Western identity.
2
First recorded
Earliest known use: Yellowstone (2018) popularised this exact spelling.
3
Today
Kayce remains a beloved choice, ranking #4136 in the US. 5,606 babies have been named Kayce since 1955.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, SSA data
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How popular is Kayce?
1987peak year
Today, Kayce is rarely chosen — ranked well outside the top 1,000 (around #4136), with only about 274 babies given the name per year. But it wasn't always this way. At its peak in 1987, 119 babies were given the name (ranked #1212 nationally). Its strongest stretch was the 2020s. Kayce has been trending upward in recent years. In all, around 5,606 babies have been registered as Kayce since 1880.
Year-by-year registrations1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
Kayce's Life Path 4 is the builder's number — building on the ranch. People named Kayce tend to be vigilant, frontier-strong, and gifted at protecting what their family built.
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