KAS-tuhr
Castor
About Castor
If you can put aside the oil connection, Castor is a mythological option, borne by one of the (half) twins that make up the constellation Gemini, the other being Pollux. A son of Leda and a king of Sparta, and a sibling of Helen of Troy, Castor and Pollux are seen as patrons of travellers and sailors, and of athletes.
The exact meaning of the name is unknown, though speculation suggests it means "shining" (from kekasmai), "wood" (from Doric Greek káston), or, in a more contemporary context, "beaver" from the Greek word for the animal. The latter is unlikely to be the original source, however, given beavers would not have been native to Greece. There's also the Greek katharos meaning "clean, pure" which might be another possible source.
Used by Metallica's James Hetfield for his son in 2000, it may inevitably linked to the aforementioned castor oil, a substance of many purposes, used in soaps, lubricants, brake fluids, dyes, and waxes. Nevertheless, it first appeared in the US stats back in the late 1990s and was given to 21 boys in a recent year.
Pronounced KAS-tuhr.
As of October 2026, Castor ranked #4734 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #3702 in 2016.
Editor's take: The name Castor is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "shining; wood; beaver".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | #3,702 | 29 | 15.3 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | #4,250 | 24 | 13.2 |
| 2019 | #4,352 | 23 | 12.8 |
| 2020 | #4,040 | 25 | 14.5 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | #4,734 | 21 | 12.3 |
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Famous Castors
- Castor of Rhodes
Greek grammarian and rhetorician
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Roman consul, son of the Emperor Tiberius, nicknamed "Castor"
- Saint Castor of Apt
French bishop of Apt
- Saint Castor of Karden
German priest and hermit
- Castor Cantero
Paraguayan football player
- Castor McCord
American jazz saxophonist
Castor in pop culture
- Castor
French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese word for "beaver"
- Castor Troy
villain in the movie 'Face/Off'
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character in the Popeye cartoons
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character in the video game "Spartan: Total Warrior"
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character in the 2007 movie "The Harpy"
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character in movie "Tron: Legacy,"
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Gobernador, character in 'The Courts of the Morning" by John Buchan
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location in video game "The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap"
- Castor
character in the Hunger Games series
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used on TV series Orphan Black (details=spoiler)
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Mr. D's (Dionysus) son and twin brother to Pollux in the Percy Jackson series
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Teacher at the School for Evil in the School for Good and Evil books