Cam is the short form of Cameron, a Scottish clan name from the Gaelic cam sròn, which means "crooked nose". As a stand-alone name it has the clipped, friendly feel of Sam and Max, and quarterback Cam Newton made it familiar to American sports fans. In the United States Cam ranked number 4080 in 2000, climbed into the 1400s by the 2020s and stands at number 1395 in 2025, its best rank so far.