Chaniel
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "vision of God".
Name Census estimates that about 26 living Americans carry the first name Chaniel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 63.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Chaniel today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chaniel births was 1987 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chaniel. 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 Chaniel with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Chaniel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
26
~ 1 in 13,182,859 Americans
Peak year
1987
6 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,549
Tracked since 1987
Gender
Gender distribution for Chaniel
Chaniel is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 27 total registrations, 10 (37.0%) were male and 17 (63.0%) were female.
Chaniel as a male name
- Ranked #12,549 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2021 (5 births)
Chaniel as a female name
- Ranked #13,834 in 1993
- 5 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1987 (6 births)
Popularity
Chaniel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chaniel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 12 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chaniel 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 Chaniel 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 Chaniel
The name Chaniel originates from the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be a variant or derivative of the name Chananiah, which means "favored by God" or "the Lord is gracious." The name Chaniel likely shares a similar meaning, reflecting a sense of divine blessing or favor.
In biblical accounts, the name Chananiah appears as one of the Hebrew men who was taken captive to Babylon during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC. The book of Daniel mentions Chananiah, who was given the Babylonian name Shadrach and was one of the three young men thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship the golden image.
The earliest recorded use of the name Chaniel itself can be traced back to the Middle Ages, particularly in Jewish communities across Europe and the Middle East. During this time period, variations of the name, such as Chananel or Chanina, were also used.
One notable figure in history who bore the name Chaniel was Chaniel ben Shesheth, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher from Spain in the 11th century AD. He was known for his contributions to Jewish law and theology, as well as his extensive knowledge of various fields, including mathematics and astronomy.
Another historical figure named Chaniel was Chaniel ben Moses, a Jewish rabbi and scholar from Italy in the 16th century. He was renowned for his expertise in biblical exegesis and Jewish law, and his works were widely studied in Jewish communities across Europe.
In the 17th century, there was a Chaniel ben Yitzchak, a Jewish scholar and kabbalist from Poland, who authored several works on Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.
Chaniel ben Abraham, a Jewish scholar from Morocco in the 18th century, was known for his expertise in Jewish law and his contributions to the study of the Talmud.
Lastly, Chaniel Muravchik was a prominent Jewish writer and educator from Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was actively involved in promoting Jewish education and culture, and his works focused on various aspects of Jewish history and literature.
These examples demonstrate the rich history and significance of the name Chaniel across different regions and time periods, particularly within Jewish communities and scholarly traditions.
People
Chaniel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chaniel 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
Chaniel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chaniel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 26 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chaniel 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 13,182,859 US residents.
Is Chaniel a common name?
We classify Chaniel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 27 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chaniel most popular?
The single biggest year for Chaniel was 1987, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chaniel is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Chaniel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chaniel a female name?
Yes, 63.0% of people registered as Chaniel 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 Chaniel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chaniel 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 Chaniel 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Chaniel?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.