Chayse
A variant spelling of the masculine name Chase, derived from an Old French surname meaning "hunter".
Name Census estimates that about 3,089 living Americans carry the first name Chayse. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Chayse today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chayse births was 2008 (185 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chayse. 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 Chayse with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Chayse is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.1K
~ 1 in 110,960 Americans
Peak year
2008
185 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,608
Tracked since 1982
Census
Chayse in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,487 people with the first name Chayse, which placed it at #6,443 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
#6,443
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,487 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chayse
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chayse is White at 58.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.2%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Chayse 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 Chayse at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.1% · 1,444
- Black or African American25.2% · 627
- Two or more races7.7% · 191
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 173
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 17
Gender
Gender distribution for Chayse
Chayse is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 3,128 total registrations, 2,258 (72.2%) were male and 870 (27.8%) were female.
Chayse as a male name
- Ranked #3,608 in 2024
- 31 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (137 births)
Chayse as a female name
- Ranked #11,291 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (80 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chayse on both sides of the split. Of the 2,490 people counted with this name, 1,719 were male (69.0%) and 771 were female (31.0%).
Popularity
Chayse: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chayse from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,292 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chayse 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 Chayse during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chayses live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, Ohio, New York recorded the most babies named Chayse, while Tennessee, Iowa, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chayse
The given name Chayse has its roots in the French language, originating from the Old French word "chacier," which means "to hunt" or "to chase." This name was initially associated with those involved in hunting activities, such as huntsmen or game keepers.
During the Middle Ages, the name Chayse gained popularity in France as a masculine name, often given to young boys born into families with ties to the nobility or the hunting profession. It was seen as a symbol of strength, agility, and skill in the pursuit of game.
While the name Chayse does not have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some historical records suggest that it was used by members of the French aristocracy as early as the 12th century. One of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in the chronicles of the Counts of Anjou, where a huntsman named Chayse was mentioned in the year 1187.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Chayse. One of the most famous was Chayse de Montfort, a French nobleman and military leader who played a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in the early 13th century. He was born around 1180 and died in 1218.
Another historical figure with this name was Chayse de Villiers, a renowned French explorer and navigator who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his expeditions to the New World in the 16th century. He was born in 1506 and died in 1573.
In the realm of literature, Chayse Aubrey was a French playwright and poet who lived during the Renaissance period. He was born in 1522 and his works, including several comedies and satires, were highly influential in his time.
Moving to the 18th century, Chayse Deveraux was a French military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He fought alongside the Continental Army and was renowned for his bravery and tactical skills. He was born in 1745 and died in 1812.
Lastly, one cannot overlook Chayse Dubois, a French artist and sculptor who gained recognition during the Romantic period of the 19th century. His works, particularly his sculptures depicting scenes from nature and mythology, were widely acclaimed. He was born in 1803 and died in 1872.
People
Chayse + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chayse 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
Chayse: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chayse?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,089 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chayse 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 110,960 US residents.
Is Chayse a common name?
We classify Chayse as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,128 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chayse most popular?
The single biggest year for Chayse was 2008, when 185 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chayse is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chayse in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,487 people with the name Chayse, or 0.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,443 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 Chayse 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 Chayse?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chayse on both sides of the split. Of the 2,490 people counted with this name, 1,719 were male (69.0%) and 771 were female (31.0%). 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 Chayse?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chayse is White at 58.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.2%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Chayse most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chayse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.1% (1,444 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 Chayse in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chayse a male name?
Yes, 72.2% of people registered as Chayse 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 Chayse still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chayse 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 Chayse 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 are called Chayse?
You can see how many Americans are named Chayse on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.