Chad
Of uncertain origin, one theory suggests it derives from a term meaning "warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 226,071 living Americans carry the first name Chad. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Chad today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chad births was 1972 (13,440 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chad. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Chad with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Chad is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,039 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1970s, recent registration numbers for Chad have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
226K
~ 1 in 1,516 Americans
Peak year
1972
13,440 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,805
Tracked since 1914
Census
Chad in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 209,144 people with the first name Chad, which placed it at #265 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#265
National first-name rank
People counted
209K
209,144 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
69.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chad
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chad is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Chad described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Chad at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 186,169
- Black or African American3.8% · 8,020
- Two or more races3.0% · 6,357
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 4,575
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2,403
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,620
Gender
Gender distribution for Chad
Out of the 241,679 babies given the name Chad since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Chad as a male name
- Ranked #1,805 in 2024
- 90 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1972 (13,391 births)
Chad as a female name
- Ranked #14,521 in 2004
- 6 female births in 2004
- Peak: 1976 (69 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chad appears almost entirely male. Of the 209,144 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Chad: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chad from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 114,102 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chad by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chad during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chads live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Chad, while District of Columbia, Delaware, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 4,672 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chad
The name Chad traces its origins back to the ancient Babylonian civilization, where it was derived from the word "Chaddad," meaning "warrior" or "fighter." This name was commonly used among the Babylonian people, who were known for their military prowess and conquests.
During the 6th century BC, the name Chad appeared in several ancient Babylonian cuneiform tablets and inscriptions, often referring to soldiers or military leaders. One of the earliest recorded examples of this name is found in the Babylonian Chronicles, which mention a Chad who served as a commander in the army of King Nebuchadnezzar II.
As the Babylonian Empire expanded, the name Chad spread to other regions of the ancient Near East, including Persia and Mesopotamia. It was adopted by various cultures and underwent slight variations in spelling and pronunciation, such as "Khad" or "Chadad."
In the 4th century AD, the name Chad gained prominence in the Christian tradition when it was borne by Saint Chad of Mercia, a prominent bishop and missionary in Anglo-Saxon England. Saint Chad is celebrated for his efforts in spreading Christianity and establishing monasteries in the region.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Chad. One of the most famous was Chad Gadya, a 12th-century Jewish scholar and philosopher from Spain. His works on Torah commentary and Jewish law were highly influential during the Golden Age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula.
Another prominent Chad was Chad of Armentières, a 13th-century French knight who fought in the Seventh Crusade alongside King Louis IX. He was known for his bravery and valor on the battlefield and is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles and accounts of the Crusades.
In the 16th century, Chad Everett, an English playwright and poet, gained recognition for his works that explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. His plays were performed in London's renowned theaters and enjoyed widespread popularity during the Elizabethan era.
The name Chad also has a notable connection to the world of exploration and adventure. Chad Chadwick was a 19th-century American explorer who led expeditions into the uncharted territories of the American West. His journals and accounts of his travels contributed significantly to the understanding of the region's geography and indigenous cultures.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Chad, a name with a rich and diverse lineage that spans ancient civilizations, religious traditions, and cultural contexts.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Chad
People
Chad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chad as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 226,071 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chad going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,516 US residents.
Is Chad a common name?
We classify Chad as "Common". It ranks above 99.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 241,679 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chad most popular?
The single biggest year for Chad was 1972, when 13,440 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chad is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chad in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 209,144 people with the name Chad, or 69.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #265 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Chad in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Chad?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chad appears almost entirely male. Of the 209,144 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Chad?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chad is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Chad most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chad in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (186,169 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chad in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chad a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Chad in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chad still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chad in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chad can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Chad as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.