Cash

How to say it

/kæʃ/

What it means

An English surname, from a maker of cases or a short form of Cassius, now read as the word for money.

Cash began as a surname, either for someone who made cases and boxes (from Norman French casse) or as a clipped form of the Roman Cassius. Modern parents hear the blunt money word and the long shadow of Johnny Cash, the Man in Black. It fits the rugged, one-syllable style with Jett and Knox and sometimes stands in as a short for Cassius or Cashton. Bold, plain, and very current.

Heads-up notes

• Nickname

  Also used as a short for Cassius or Cashton.

• Pop culture

  Inseparable from Johnny Cash, which gives it instant outlaw cool.

Who's worn it

Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.

• Johnny Cash American country-music legend, the Man in Black

Spelling variants

• Kash
• Cashe

Names with the same feeling

• Jett Black gemstone, fast
• Ace Number one, expert
• Knox Round hill
• Cade Round, lumpy, or 'battle'
• Beau Handsome, beautiful

See Cash from another angle