Gender: Masculine
Origin: English
Eng (SEE-drik); Fre (say-DREEK)

The name first appeared in Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel, Ivanhoe.

It is generally believed that Scott derived the name from the Celtic Cerdic, which is related to the Welsh, caredig, meaning, “love.”

In history, Cerdic was borne by a 6th-century king of Wessex.

The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for his protaganist in his novel, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).

Recently, it is the name of a character in J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter Series.

Cédric was extremely popular in France during the 1970s-80s. Between 1976-77, it was the 10th most popular male name in France, then rose two place in 1979 to # 5. Between 1980 and 1986, he went up and down between 5th and 6th place and then dropped drastically in 1988 to # 20. He currently comes in as the 370th most popular male name in France, (2009). As of 2010, he was the 726th most popular male name in the United States.

In France, his sudden popularity may have been due to a popular French comic strip of the same name.

Other forms include:

• Cédric (French)
• Cedrik (Swedish)

In France, the designated name-day is January 7.

The name is borne by American Comedian, Cedric the Entertainer (b.1964)