Chaeli
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Hebrew "Chaiah", meaning "life".
Name Census estimates that about 258 living Americans carry the first name Chaeli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chaeli today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chaeli births was 2006 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chaeli. 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.
People living today
258
~ 1 in 1,328,505 Americans
Peak year
2006
37 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2012 SSA rank
#17,420
Tracked since 1988
Census
Chaeli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 306 people with the first name Chaeli, which placed it at #29,088 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
#29,088
National first-name rank
People counted
306
306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chaeli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaeli is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.8%) and Hispanic (8.5%). 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 Chaeli 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 Chaeli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.6% · 210
- Two or more races8.8% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 26
- Black or African American7.2% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.9% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Chaeli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chaeli from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 218 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chaeli 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 Chaeli 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 Chaeli
The name Chaeli has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word "chai," meaning "life" or "alive," often associated with vitality, energy, and the celebration of life.
In the biblical context, the name Chaeli is not explicitly mentioned, but its connection to the concept of life resonates with the Hebrew spiritual tradition. The name may have been inspired by the reverence for life and the divine breath that animates all living beings, as described in the Book of Genesis.
The earliest recorded use of the name Chaeli can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when it appeared sporadically in Jewish communities across Europe and the Middle East. One notable figure bearing this name was Chaeli ben Avraham, a 13th-century Jewish scholar and philosopher from Spain, known for his contributions to the study of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism.
During the Renaissance period, the name Chaeli gained some prominence among Jewish intellectuals and artists. Chaeli Delmedigo, an Italian-born Jewish physician and philosopher from the 16th century, was renowned for his works on astronomy and his defense of Aristotelian philosophy against the emerging scientific revolution.
In the 18th century, Chaeli ben Yitzchak, a Hasidic rabbi and spiritual leader from Eastern Europe, was celebrated for his teachings on the importance of joy and gratitude in one's spiritual journey, further reinforcing the name's connection to the celebration of life.
Another notable figure was Chaeli Greenspan, a 19th-century Jewish American author and activist who wrote extensively on the challenges faced by immigrant communities in the United States, advocating for social justice and equal rights.
In more recent times, the name Chaeli has been embraced by various cultures and communities around the world, transcending its Hebrew origins. While it may not be as widely used as other names, it continues to carry the essence of vitality and the appreciation for the gift of life.
People
Chaeli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chaeli 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
Chaeli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chaeli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 258 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chaeli 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 1,328,505 US residents.
Is Chaeli a common name?
We classify Chaeli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 262 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chaeli most popular?
The single biggest year for Chaeli was 2006, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chaeli is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chaeli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 306 people with the name Chaeli, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,088 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 Chaeli 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 Chaeli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chaeli appears almost entirely female. Of the 314 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Chaeli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaeli is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.8%) and Hispanic (8.5%). 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 Chaeli most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chaeli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.6% (210 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 Chaeli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chaeli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chaeli 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 Chaeli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chaeli 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 Chaeli 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 Chaeli as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.