Chanin
A Thai feminine name meaning "good moon" or "beautiful moon".
Name Census estimates that about 276 living Americans carry the first name Chanin. It is a predominantly female name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Chanin today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chanin births was 1970 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chanin. 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
276
~ 1 in 1,241,864 Americans
Peak year
1970
72 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1972 SSA rank
#4,517
Tracked since 1966
Census
Chanin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 424 people with the first name Chanin, which placed it at #23,170 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
#23,170
National first-name rank
People counted
424
424 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chanin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chanin is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.6%). 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 Chanin 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 Chanin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.7% · 283
- Black or African American13.2% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.6% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 21
- Two or more races4.0% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Chanin
Chanin leans heavily female at 96.5% of total registrations, but 11 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Chanin as a male name
- Ranked #4,517 in 1972
- 6 male births in 1972
- Peak: 1972 (6 births)
Chanin as a female name
- Ranked #10,718 in 1995
- 7 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1970 (72 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chanin on both sides of the split. Of the 416 people counted with this name, 98 were male (23.6%) and 318 were female (76.4%).
Popularity
Chanin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chanin from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 198 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
Chanin 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 Chanin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chanins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Ohio, Indiana recorded the most babies named Chanin, while Illinois, Indiana, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chanin
The name Chanin has its origins in the Sanskrit language, tracing back to ancient India, around 1500 BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Chandan," which means "sandalwood," a highly valued and fragrant wood used in religious rituals and ceremonies.
In Hindu mythology, sandalwood is associated with purity, spirituality, and divine blessings. The name Chanin is often given to children as a symbol of these qualities, with the hope that they will embody the virtues represented by the name.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Chanin can be found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. It was a popular name among the Brahmin caste, who were known for their spiritual and intellectual pursuits.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Chanin. One of the earliest was Chanin Sharma, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 8th century CE. He was known for his contributions to the field of linguistics and his commentaries on ancient Sanskrit texts.
Another notable figure was Chanin Gupta, a celebrated poet and playwright who lived during the reign of the Gupta Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries CE. His works, which often explored themes of love, spirituality, and human emotions, were widely acclaimed and influential in shaping the literary traditions of ancient India.
In more recent times, Chanin Mukherjee (1909-1986) was a prominent Indian politician and freedom fighter. He played a significant role in India's struggle for independence from British rule and later served as a member of parliament and a minister in the Indian government.
Chanin Banerjee (1938-2013) was a distinguished Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was widely recognized for her contributions to the revival and promotion of the Odissi dance form, a traditional style originating from the state of Odisha.
Chanin Krishnan (born 1955) is a contemporary Indian author and screenwriter known for her novels and short stories that explore themes of identity, relationships, and cultural dynamics in modern India.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Chanin throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich cultural tapestry of India and beyond.
People
Chanin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chanin 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
Chanin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chanin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 276 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chanin 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 1,241,864 US residents.
Is Chanin a common name?
We classify Chanin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 312 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chanin most popular?
The single biggest year for Chanin was 1970, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chanin is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chanin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 424 people with the name Chanin, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,170 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 Chanin 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 Chanin?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chanin on both sides of the split. Of the 416 people counted with this name, 98 were male (23.6%) and 318 were female (76.4%). 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 Chanin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chanin is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.6%). 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 Chanin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chanin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (283 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 Chanin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chanin a female name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Chanin 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 Chanin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chanin 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 Chanin 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 the name Chanin?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Chanin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.