Chauna
Of Scandinavian origin, meaning "little bird".
Name Census estimates that about 226 living Americans carry the first name Chauna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chauna today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chauna births was 1977 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chauna. 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
226
~ 1 in 1,516,612 Americans
Peak year
1977
17 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1993 SSA rank
#8,176
Tracked since 1959
Census
Chauna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 255 people with the first name Chauna, which placed it at #32,783 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
#32,783
National first-name rank
People counted
255
255 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chauna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chauna is White at 49.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Two or More Races (9.0%). 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 Chauna 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 Chauna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.8% · 127
- Black or African American32.5% · 83
- Two or more races9.0% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Chauna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chauna from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 110 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
Chauna 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 Chauna 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 Chauna
The name Chauna originates from the Sanskrit language, with its roots dating back to ancient India. It is derived from the word "chauna," which means "beautiful" or "attractive." This name gained popularity during the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Chauna can be found in the Rigveda, one of the most ancient Hindu scriptures. It is believed that a few characters in the Rigveda bore this name, although their exact identities remain uncertain due to the age of the text.
In the 7th century BCE, a female philosopher and scholar named Chauna Rishi gained recognition for her contributions to the field of metaphysics. She is credited with writing several treatises on the nature of consciousness and the human mind.
During the Gupta Empire, which ruled over much of northern India between the 4th and 6th centuries CE, a renowned poet and playwright named Chauna Kaviraj rose to prominence. His works, particularly his plays, were highly acclaimed and influenced the development of Sanskrit literature.
In the 12th century CE, Chauna Devi, a princess from the Rajput kingdom of Mewar, became known for her bravery and leadership during a time of conflict. She is remembered for her role in defending her kingdom against invading forces.
Another notable figure with the name Chauna was Chauna Singh, a military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 16th century. He played a crucial role in several military campaigns and was celebrated for his strategic brilliance and loyalty to the empire.
While the name Chauna has its roots in ancient India, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly among communities with Indian diaspora. However, its usage has remained relatively limited compared to other Sanskrit-derived names.
People
Chauna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chauna 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
Chauna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chauna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 226 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chauna 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 1,516,612 US residents.
Is Chauna a common name?
We classify Chauna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 248 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chauna most popular?
The single biggest year for Chauna was 1977, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chauna is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chauna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 255 people with the name Chauna, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,783 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 Chauna 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 Chauna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chauna leans strongly female. 251 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Chauna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chauna is White at 49.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Two or More Races (9.0%). 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 Chauna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chauna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.8% (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 Chauna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chauna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chauna 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 Chauna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chauna 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 Chauna 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 Chauna?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.