Chardonay
Feminine name of French origin meaning "place abundant with thistles".
Name Census estimates that about 78 living Americans carry the first name Chardonay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chardonay today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chardonay births was 1995 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chardonay. 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 Chardonay with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Chardonay. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
78
~ 1 in 4,394,286 Americans
Peak year
1995
10 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2002 SSA rank
#15,923
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Chardonay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chardonay from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 59 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Chardonay remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chardonay 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 Chardonay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chardonay
The name Chardonay is a relatively modern one, originating in the late 20th century. It is derived from the French word "chardonnay," which refers to a specific type of white wine grape. The chardonnay grape is believed to have originated in the Burgundy region of eastern France, although its exact origins are uncertain.
The name Chardonay likely first gained popularity as a given name in the United States and other English-speaking countries, where the chardonnay wine variety became increasingly popular and trendy in the latter half of the 20th century. Parents may have been drawn to the name's association with the upscale and sophisticated image of the wine, as well as its unique and melodic sound.
While the name Chardonay does not have a long historical lineage, it has been used as a given name for both girls and boys in recent decades. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Chardonay may be Chardonay Charlene Hadnott, an American woman born in 1979 in South Carolina.
Another early example is Chardonay Roberta Brooks, an American woman born in 1980 in California. Chardonay Brooks went on to become a professional basketball player, playing in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury in the early 2000s.
In more recent years, the name Chardonay has been given to several other notable individuals, including:
1. Chardonay Tarese Malloy, an American actress born in 1994, known for her roles in the films "The Hate U Give" and "Harriet."
2. Chardonay Gonzalez, an American singer and songwriter born in 1996, who has released several successful singles and albums in the pop and R&B genres.
3. Chardonay Pruitt, an American athlete born in 1998, who competed in the high jump event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
4. Chardonay Remington, a Canadian model and social media influencer born in 1992, known for her work in the fashion and beauty industries.
5. Chardonay Williams, an American entrepreneur and business executive born in 1985, who co-founded a successful tech startup company in Silicon Valley.
While the name Chardonay is still relatively uncommon, its unique and modern sound, along with its association with the popular wine variety, has contributed to its growing use as a given name in various parts of the world.
People
Chardonay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chardonay 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
Chardonay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chardonay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 78 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chardonay 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 4,394,286 US residents.
Is Chardonay a common name?
We classify Chardonay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 80 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chardonay most popular?
The single biggest year for Chardonay was 1995, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chardonay is about 29 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 Chardonay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chardonay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chardonay 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 Chardonay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chardonay 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 Chardonay 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 are called Chardonay?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Chardonay at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.