Chee
A Chinese surname or unisex given name of unclear meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 438 living Americans carry the first name Chee. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 60.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Chee today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chee births was 1991 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chee. 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 Chee with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
438
~ 1 in 782,544 Americans
Peak year
1991
36 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2001 SSA rank
#7,647
Tracked since 1920
Census
Chee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,634 people with the first name Chee, which placed it at #8,772 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
#8,772
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,634 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chee is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.8%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Chee 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 Chee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.1% · 1,554
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 45
- Black or African American0.7% · 12
- White0.6% · 10
- Two or more races0.6% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Chee
Chee is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 534 total registrations, 325 (60.9%) were male and 209 (39.1%) were female.
Chee as a male name
- Ranked #7,647 in 2001
- 8 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1991 (22 births)
Chee as a female name
- Ranked #14,172 in 1997
- 5 female births in 1997
- Peak: 1992 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chee on both sides of the split. Of the 1,638 people counted with this name, 1,000 were male (61.1%) and 638 were female (38.9%).
Popularity
Chee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chee from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 233 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
Chee 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 Chee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Arizona recorded the most babies named Chee, while New York, New Mexico, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chee
The name Chee has its origins in various East Asian cultures and languages. It is believed to have derived from the Chinese word "chǐ," meaning "to strive" or "to exert oneself." This name was commonly used in ancient China, particularly during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), when it was associated with industriousness and diligence.
In Korean culture, the name Chee is a variation of the name "Chi," which means "wisdom" or "intelligence." It was often given to children with the hope that they would grow up to be wise and knowledgeable individuals. The earliest recorded use of this name in Korea dates back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392 AD).
In Japanese culture, the name Chee is a derivative of the word "chi," which can mean "knowledge," "wisdom," or "energy." It was often given to children as a symbol of their potential for intellectual growth and vitality. Historical records indicate that this name was in use during the Heian period (794–1185 AD).
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Chee was Chee Han, a renowned Chinese philosopher and scholar who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD). He is known for his contributions to the development of Confucian thought and his influential work, "The Analects of Chee Han."
Another notable figure was Chee Sung, a Korean Buddhist monk who lived during the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392 AD). He is celebrated for his role in spreading Buddhism throughout the Korean peninsula and for his teachings on meditation and mindfulness.
In Japan, one of the most famous individuals with the name Chee was Chee Shogun, a military leader and shogun who ruled during the Kamakura period (1185–1333 AD). He is credited with establishing the Shogunate system of government and consolidating the power of the samurai class.
During the Ming Dynasty in China (1368–1644 AD), Chee Xuan was a renowned artist and calligrapher. His works are highly regarded for their elegance and mastery of traditional Chinese brush strokes.
In more recent times, Chee Hoon, a South Korean actress and singer born in 1979, has gained international recognition for her performances in various films and television dramas.
People
Chee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chee 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
Chee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 438 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chee 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 782,544 US residents.
Is Chee a common name?
We classify Chee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 534 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chee most popular?
The single biggest year for Chee was 1991, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chee is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,634 people with the name Chee, or 0.54 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,772 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 Chee 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 Chee?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chee on both sides of the split. Of the 1,638 people counted with this name, 1,000 were male (61.1%) and 638 were female (38.9%). 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 Chee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chee is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.8%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Chee most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (1,554 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 Chee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chee a male name?
Yes, 60.9% of people registered as Chee 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 Chee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chee 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 Chee 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 have Chee as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Chee on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.