Chanoch
Hebrew masculine name meaning "dedicated" or "initiated".
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the first name Chanoch. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Chanoch today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chanoch births was 2019 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chanoch. 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
133
~ 1 in 2,577,100 Americans
Peak year
2019
13 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,050
Tracked since 2001
Census
Chanoch in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 194 people with the first name Chanoch, which placed it at #39,126 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
#39,126
National first-name rank
People counted
194
194 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
95.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chanoch
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chanoch is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Chanoch 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 Chanoch at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.9% · 186
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 2
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Popularity
Chanoch: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chanoch from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 60 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Chanoch remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chanoch 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 Chanoch during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chanochs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chanoch
The name Chanoch has its origins in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew root word "chanakh," which means "to dedicate" or "to train." The name holds significant religious and historical significance within the Judaic tradition.
One of the earliest mentions of the name Chanoch can be found in the Book of Genesis, where it refers to Enoch, the son of Jared and father of Methuselah. According to the biblical account, Enoch lived for 365 years and was renowned for his righteousness, eventually being taken up by God. This narrative has made Enoch a revered figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In Jewish folklore and ancient texts, Chanoch is often associated with wisdom, righteousness, and divine favor. The apocryphal Book of Enoch, attributed to the biblical figure, is a collection of writings that explore mystical and esoteric teachings. Although not part of the canonical Hebrew Bible, this work has profoundly influenced various religious and mystical traditions.
The name Chanoch has been carried by notable figures throughout history. One such individual was Chanoch ben Moshe, a prominent Talmudic scholar who lived in the 11th century. His works on Jewish law and ethics were highly influential during his time.
Another historical figure bearing the name was Chanoch Zundel, a 17th-century Polish rabbi and kabbalist. He is renowned for his contributions to the study of Jewish mysticism and his commentaries on the Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah.
In more recent times, Chanoch Levin (1919-1999) was a renowned Israeli linguist and Hebrew language scholar. He played a crucial role in reviving and modernizing the Hebrew language, contributing significantly to its widespread use in modern Israel.
Chanoch Jacobson (1910-1994) was a South African rabbi and community leader who worked tirelessly to promote Jewish education and strengthen the Jewish community in his country.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Chanoch throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of Jewish culture and tradition.
People
Chanoch + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chanoch 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
Chanoch: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chanoch?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 133 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chanoch 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 2,577,100 US residents.
Is Chanoch a common name?
We classify Chanoch as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 134 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chanoch most popular?
The single biggest year for Chanoch was 2019, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chanoch is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chanoch in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 194 people with the name Chanoch, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,126 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 Chanoch 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 Chanoch?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chanoch appears almost entirely male. Of the 195 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Chanoch?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chanoch is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Chanoch most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chanoch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (186 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 Chanoch in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chanoch a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chanoch 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 Chanoch still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chanoch 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 Chanoch 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 Chanoch?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.