Chavez
A Spanish variant of Jose, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows".
Name Census estimates that about 850 living Americans carry the first name Chavez. It is a predominantly male name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Chavez today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chavez births was 1992 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chavez. 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 Chavez with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
850
~ 1 in 403,240 Americans
Peak year
1992
60 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,903
Tracked since 1953
Census
Chavez in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 938 people with the first name Chavez, which placed it at #13,033 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
#13,033
National first-name rank
People counted
938
938 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chavez
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chavez is Black at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.7%) and White (5.2%). 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 Chavez 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 Chavez at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.6% · 484
- Hispanic or Latino31.7% · 297
- White5.2% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.4% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 40
- Two or more races2.9% · 27
Gender
Gender distribution for Chavez
Out of the 876 babies given the name Chavez since 1880, 99.1% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Chavez as a male name
- Ranked #12,621 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (60 births)
Chavez as a female name
- Ranked #8,903 in 1989
- 8 female births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chavez leans strongly male. 805 people counted with this name were male (85.8%), compared with 133 female bearers (14.2%).
Popularity
Chavez: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chavez from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 352 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chavez 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 Chavez during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chavez' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Georgia, Michigan, Ohio recorded the most babies named Chavez, while New York, North Carolina, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chavez
The name Chavez originates from the Spanish language and has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in the regions of Spain and Portugal. It is derived from the word "chavo," which means "boy" or "lad" in Spanish.
In the early medieval period, the name Chavez was likely used as a nickname or a descriptive term to refer to a young man or a boy. Over time, it transitioned into a given name, particularly among Spanish and Portuguese communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chavez dates back to the 13th century, where it appeared in various historical documents and records from the Iberian Peninsula. During this period, the name was closely associated with the noble and aristocratic classes of society.
Notably, the name Chavez appeared in the famous Spanish epic poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid," written in the 12th century. This literary work, which recounts the exploits of the legendary Castilian hero El Cid, featured characters bearing the name Chavez, indicating its widespread use during that era.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Chavez. One of the most prominent was César Chávez (1927-1993), an American labor leader and civil rights activist who fought for the rights of farmworkers in the United States.
Another notable figure was Julio César Chávez (born 1962), a Mexican professional boxer and multiple-time world champion in various weight classes. His exceptional boxing career and achievements made him a national icon in Mexico.
In the realm of literature, César Augusto Chávez Gutiérrez (born 1940) was a renowned Peruvian novelist and poet, known for his works that explored indigenous cultural themes and social issues.
The name Chavez also has a strong connection to the Catholic Church, with several religious figures bearing this name. One example is Fray Pedro de Chávez (1537-1592), a Spanish Franciscan friar who traveled to New Spain (present-day Mexico) and played a significant role in the evangelization efforts in the region.
Additionally, Fray Ángel Chávez (1910-1986) was a Mexican Catholic priest and activist who dedicated his life to promoting social justice and advocating for the rights of indigenous communities in Mexico.
People
Chavez + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chavez 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
Chavez: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chavez?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 850 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chavez 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 403,240 US residents.
Is Chavez a common name?
We classify Chavez as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 876 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chavez most popular?
The single biggest year for Chavez was 1992, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chavez is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chavez in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 938 people with the name Chavez, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,033 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 Chavez 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 Chavez?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chavez leans strongly male. 805 people counted with this name were male (85.8%), compared with 133 female bearers (14.2%). 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 Chavez?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chavez is Black at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.7%) and White (5.2%). 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 Chavez most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chavez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.6% (484 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 Chavez in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chavez a male name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Chavez 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 Chavez still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chavez 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 Chavez 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 share the name Chavez?
Find out how many Americans are named Chavez on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.