Chantay
A French feminine name referring to songfulness, stemming from the word "chanter".
Name Census estimates that about 987 living Americans carry the first name Chantay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chantay today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chantay births was 1961 (80 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chantay. 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 Chantay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
987
~ 1 in 347,269 Americans
Peak year
1961
80 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2000 SSA rank
#12,042
Tracked since 1960
Census
Chantay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 948 people with the first name Chantay, which placed it at #12,921 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
#12,921
National first-name rank
People counted
948
948 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chantay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chantay is Black at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Chantay 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 Chantay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.8% · 700
- White14.8% · 140
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 42
- Two or more races3.7% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 15
Popularity
Chantay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chantay from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 403 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chantay 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 Chantay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chantays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Chantay, while Ohio, Missouri, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chantay
The name Chantay has its origins in French, derived from the word "chanter," which means "to sing." The name is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages in France, sometime around the 12th to 15th centuries.
In its earliest form, the name was often spelled as "Chantaye" or "Chantaie." It was initially used as a surname for individuals who were singers, minstrels, or bards. Over time, it transitioned into a given name, primarily for females.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chantay can be found in the 13th-century French epic poem "Le Roman de la Rose." In this work, a character named Chantay is mentioned, though it is unclear whether this was a fictional name or a reference to a real person.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Chantay. One of the earliest was Chantay de Nevers (c. 1270-1335), a French noblewoman and trouvère (a composer and poet of courtly love songs) from the Duchy of Burgundy.
Another prominent figure was Chantay de Valois (1387-1439), a French princess who was a member of the House of Valois and the daughter of King Charles VI of France. She played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War against England.
In the realm of literature, Chantay de Navarre (1492-1549) was a French Renaissance writer and poet. She is best known for her collection of short stories, "Heptameron," which was inspired by the works of Giovanni Boccaccio.
Moving forward in history, Chantay Delacroix (1699-1765) was a French artist and painter who specialized in portraiture and historical scenes. Her works were highly sought after by the nobility and aristocracy of her time.
In the 20th century, Chantay Bouvier (1929-1994) was a renowned French fashion designer and entrepreneur. She founded the iconic fashion house "Chantay Bouvier" and was known for her elegant and sophisticated designs.
While the name Chantay has its roots in French culture, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in the English-speaking countries. However, its historical significance remains tied to its French origins and the individuals who have carried this name throughout the centuries.
People
Chantay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chantay 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
Chantay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chantay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 987 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chantay 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 347,269 US residents.
Is Chantay a common name?
We classify Chantay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chantay most popular?
The single biggest year for Chantay was 1961, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chantay is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chantay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 948 people with the name Chantay, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,921 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 Chantay 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 Chantay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chantay leans strongly female. 935 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 14 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Chantay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chantay is Black at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Chantay most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chantay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (700 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 Chantay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chantay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chantay 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 Chantay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chantay 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 Chantay 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 Chantay as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.