Chae
A unisex Korean name meaning "renew" or "grace."
Name Census estimates that about 310 living Americans carry the first name Chae. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 54.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Chae today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chae births was 1988 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chae. 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 Chae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
310
~ 1 in 1,105,659 Americans
Peak year
1988
31 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2004 SSA rank
#9,096
Tracked since 1970
Census
Chae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,781 people with the first name Chae, which placed it at #8,192 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
#8,192
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,781 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
77.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chae is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.1%. The next largest groups are White (10.6%) and Black (7.0%). 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 Chae 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 Chae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander77.1% · 1,374
- White10.6% · 189
- Black or African American7.0% · 125
- Two or more races3.3% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Chae
Chae is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 323 total registrations, 148 (45.8%) were male and 175 (54.2%) were female.
Chae as a male name
- Ranked #9,096 in 2004
- 7 male births in 2004
- Peak: 1989 (10 births)
Chae as a female name
- Ranked #14,845 in 2005
- 6 female births in 2005
- Peak: 1988 (24 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chae on both sides of the split. Of the 1,785 people counted with this name, 758 were male (42.5%) and 1,027 were female (57.5%).
Popularity
Chae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chae from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 133 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Chae remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chae 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 Chae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chae
The name Chae is believed to have its origins in Korean culture, dating back several centuries. It is derived from the Korean word "chae," which means "wisdom" or "intelligence." This name has been used in Korea for generations, often given to children with the hope that they would grow up to be wise and knowledgeable individuals.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Chae can be found in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, a historical record that spans several centuries of Korean history. In this text, there are mentions of individuals with the name Chae, indicating its prevalence during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Chae. One such individual was Chae Yeong-sin (1316-1388), a renowned Korean scholar and philosopher during the Goryeo Dynasty. He was known for his contributions to Confucian thought and his influential writings on ethics and morality.
Another prominent figure with the name Chae was Chae Jegong (1624-1651), a Korean scholar and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of mathematics during the Joseon Dynasty. His work on the theory of equations and algebraic equations was highly acclaimed and influential in his time.
In the realm of literature, Chae Mansik (1902-1950) was a famous Korean novelist and playwright. He is renowned for his work in depicting the struggles and social issues faced by the Korean people during the Japanese colonial period. His novels, such as "Chuksuryu" and "Sangryunjon," are considered classics in Korean literature.
Chae Byung-ok (1912-1998) was a prominent Korean politician and diplomat who played a crucial role in the formation of the Republic of Korea. He served as the first Prime Minister of South Korea from 1948 to 1950 and later held various diplomatic positions, including serving as the Ambassador to the United States.
In the field of sports, Chae Yun-seong (born 1987) is a notable figure. He is a South Korean professional baseball player who has played for various teams in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) league. Chae is known for his exceptional pitching skills and has been a valuable asset to his teams throughout his career.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals who have borne the name Chae throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence and significance in Korean culture and society.
People
Chae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chae 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
Chae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 310 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chae 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 1,105,659 US residents.
Is Chae a common name?
We classify Chae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 323 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chae most popular?
The single biggest year for Chae was 1988, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chae is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,781 people with the name Chae, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,192 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 Chae 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 Chae?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chae on both sides of the split. Of the 1,785 people counted with this name, 758 were male (42.5%) and 1,027 were female (57.5%). 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 Chae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chae is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.1%. The next largest groups are White (10.6%) and Black (7.0%). 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 Chae most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.1% (1,374 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 Chae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chae a female name?
Yes, 54.2% of people registered as Chae in the SSA data are female. 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 Chae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chae 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 Chae 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 are called Chae?
You can see how many people have the name Chae on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.