Chelsey
Feminine variant of Chelsea, derived from the town name meaning "chalk landing place".
Name Census estimates that about 30,374 living Americans carry the first name Chelsey. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chelsey today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chelsey births was 1992 (2,886 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chelsey. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Chelsey is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 65 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1990s, recent registration numbers for Chelsey have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
30K
~ 1 in 11,284 Americans
Peak year
1992
2,886 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
1992 SSA rank
#5,461
Tracked since 1969
Gender
Gender distribution for Chelsey
Out of the 31,543 babies given the name Chelsey since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Chelsey as a male name
- Ranked #7,571 in 1992
- 6 male births in 1992
- Peak: 1988 (16 births)
Chelsey as a female name
- Ranked #5,461 in 2024
- 23 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (2,880 births)
Popularity
Chelsey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chelsey from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 16,852 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
Chelsey 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 Chelsey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chelseys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Chelsey, while Delaware, District of Columbia, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 581 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chelsey
The name Chelsey is an English variant of the name Chelsea, which derives from the area of Chelsea in London, England. The name Chelsea itself originates from the Old English words "Chelcith" or "Chelchyth," meaning "chalk landing place" or "chalk wharf." This refers to the geography of the area, which was situated along the River Thames and known for its chalk beds.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Chelsea can be traced back to the late 11th century, when it appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the village of "Chelchethe." Over time, the name evolved into its modern spelling of Chelsea and eventually gave rise to the variant spelling Chelsey.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Chelsey was Chelsey Culpeper (1600-1663), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the English Civil War. Another early bearer of the name was Chelsey Willoughby (1657-1728), a British landowner and Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire.
In the 19th century, Chelsey Bonney (1819-1892) was a prominent American politician and lawyer who served as a judge in Illinois. Chelsey Brewer (1856-1932) was an American educator and advocate for women's higher education, serving as the president of Bradley University in Illinois.
A more recent historical figure with the name Chelsey was Chelsey Crisp (1919-2002), an Australian nurse and midwife who played a significant role in advancing maternal and child health services in rural areas of Australia.
While the name Chelsey has been used throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon until more recent times. Its popularity has grown in the past few decades, likely influenced by its connection to the affluent area of Chelsea in London, as well as its similarity to the more established name Chelsea.
People
Chelsey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chelsey 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
Chelsey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chelsey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30,374 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chelsey 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 11,284 US residents.
Is Chelsey a common name?
We classify Chelsey as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31,543 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chelsey most popular?
The single biggest year for Chelsey was 1992, when 2,886 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chelsey is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Chelsey a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Chelsey 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.
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.