Chard
A name derived from the red Swiss chard plant.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Chard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Chard today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chard births was 1978 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chard. 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 Chard. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1978
5 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1978 SSA rank
#5,939
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Chard: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Chard 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 Chard during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Chard
The name Chard has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era in Britain. It is derived from the Old English word "ceard," which means "maker of charts or maps." This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with cartographers or navigators.
In the early Middle Ages, the name Chard appeared in various medieval records and charters. One of the earliest documented instances is Chard of Warwick, a cartographer and mapmaker who lived in the 11th century. His detailed maps and charts were renowned and used by many travelers and merchants of the time.
During the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century, the name Chard gained further prominence. Chard de Montfort, a Norman nobleman and military commander, was a significant figure in the conquest. He was known for his strategic skills and his contributions to the successful invasion of England in 1066.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Chard de Bury emerged. He was a scholar, bibliophile, and the tutor of King Edward III. Chard de Bury is credited with establishing one of the earliest institutional libraries in England, which later became the basis for the University of Cambridge's library.
The name Chard has also been associated with religious figures. Chard of Salisbury was a 12th-century English monk and chronicler who documented the history of the Salisbury Cathedral and the surrounding region.
In the 16th century, Chard Wren, an English architect and mathematician, made significant contributions to the field of architecture. He is best known for his design of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, which is considered one of the most iconic buildings in the city.
Other notable individuals with the name Chard include Chard Dickens (1812-1870), a British novelist and the eldest son of the famous writer Charles Dickens, and Chard Belloc (1870-1953), an English writer and historian who was a prominent figure in the Catholic literary revival of the early 20th century.
People
Chard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chard 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
Chard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chard 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Chard a common name?
We classify Chard as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chard most popular?
The single biggest year for Chard was 1978, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chard is about 45 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 Chard in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chard a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chard 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 Chard still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chard 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 Chard 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 many people have Chard as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.