Chappell
Anglicized form of the French surname Chapelle meaning "small chapel".
Name Census estimates that about 39 living Americans carry the first name Chappell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Chappell today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chappell births was 1973 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chappell. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Chappell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
39
~ 1 in 8,788,573 Americans
Peak year
1973
6 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1977 SSA rank
#5,227
Tracked since 1922
Census
Chappell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 231 people with the first name Chappell, which placed it at #35,041 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
#35,041
National first-name rank
People counted
231
231 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chappell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chappell is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (38.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Chappell 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 Chappell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.0% · 127
- Black or African American38.5% · 89
- Two or more races3.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Chappell
Chappell leans heavily male at 80.8% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Chappell as a male name
- Ranked #5,227 in 1977
- 6 male births in 1977
- Peak: 1973 (6 births)
Chappell as a female name
- Ranked #15,782 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1989 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chappell on both sides of the split. Of the 230 people counted with this name, 142 were male (61.7%) and 88 were female (38.3%).
Popularity
Chappell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chappell from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 17 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
Chappell 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 Chappell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chappells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chappell
The name Chappell is derived from the Old French word "chapelle," meaning a small chapel or house of worship. Its origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when it was a common surname given to individuals who lived near or worked in a chapel.
In the 12th century, the name Chappell can be found in various records and documents across Europe, particularly in England and France. It was often associated with religious figures, such as priests or monks, who were responsible for maintaining and overseeing chapels.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chappell is found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in several entries, indicating its presence in various parts of England at that time.
Throughout the centuries, the name Chappell has been borne by notable individuals from various walks of life. One such individual was John Chappell (c. 1542-1604), an English composer and organist who served as the organist at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland.
Another notable figure was William Chappell (1809-1888), an English writer, antiquarian, and author of the influential work "Popular Music of the Olden Time." He made significant contributions to the study and preservation of English folk music and ballads.
In the realm of literature, Thomas Chappell (1867-1928) was an American author and journalist who wrote several novels and short stories, including "The Mermaid" and "The Cruise of the Shining Light."
The name Chappell also has ties to the world of politics. Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (1781-1841), an English sculptor, was knighted by King William IV for his artistic achievements, which included sculpting busts of several British Prime Ministers.
Additionally, Cary Chappell (1924-2021) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1969 to 1983.
While the name Chappell has its roots in the religious and ecclesiastical realms, it has been embraced by individuals from various backgrounds and professions throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and diverse meanings.
People
Chappell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chappell 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
Chappell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chappell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 39 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chappell 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 8,788,573 US residents.
Is Chappell a common name?
We classify Chappell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chappell most popular?
The single biggest year for Chappell was 1973, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chappell is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chappell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 231 people with the name Chappell, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,041 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 Chappell 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 Chappell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chappell on both sides of the split. Of the 230 people counted with this name, 142 were male (61.7%) and 88 were female (38.3%). 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 Chappell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chappell is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (38.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Chappell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chappell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.0% (127 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 Chappell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chappell a male name?
Yes, 80.8% of people registered as Chappell 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 Chappell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chappell 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 Chappell 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 Americans are named Chappell?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Chappell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.