Chelsi
A modern variation of the name Chelsea, of English origin meaning "chalk landing place."
Name Census estimates that about 3,888 living Americans carry the first name Chelsi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chelsi today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chelsi births was 1991 (339 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chelsi. 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 Chelsi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.9K
~ 1 in 88,157 Americans
Peak year
1991
339 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,478
Tracked since 1969
Census
Chelsi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,439 people with the first name Chelsi, which placed it at #5,101 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
#5,101
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,439 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chelsi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chelsi is White at 72.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Chelsi 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 Chelsi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.4% · 2,491
- Black or African American12.6% · 432
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 276
- Two or more races4.8% · 164
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 32
Popularity
Chelsi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chelsi 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 2,092 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
Chelsi 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 Chelsi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chelsis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Chelsi, while Nevada, Montana, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 66 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chelsi
The name Chelsi is believed to have originated from the Old English name Chelsea, which was derived from the place name "Chelcith" or "Chelchyth." This place name was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 and referred to a village on the banks of the River Thames in present-day London.
The name Chelsea itself is thought to have evolved from the Old English words "cælc" (meaning "chalk") and "hyth" (meaning "landing place" or "wharf"). This suggests that the area was known for its chalk-based soil and its position along the river, which made it a suitable location for a landing or wharf.
While the name Chelsi is a more modern variation of Chelsea, it shares the same roots and historical significance. The earliest recorded instances of the name Chelsi are relatively recent, with the earliest known use dating back to the late 20th century.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Chelsi was Chelsi Smith, an American model and reality television personality born in 1992. She is best known for her appearances on the reality shows "The Amazing Race" and "Survivor."
Another notable figure with the name Chelsi is Chelsi Asuave, a Canadian singer and songwriter born in 1988. She has released several successful albums and has been nominated for various music awards.
In the realm of sports, Chelsi Byrd is an American professional basketball player who was born in 1992. She has played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and has also competed internationally for the United States national team.
Chelsi Shaddix is an American singer and songwriter born in 1985. She is best known for her work with the rock band Sevendust, where she performed backing vocals and co-wrote several songs.
Historically, the name Chelsi has also been associated with the English aristocracy. One notable example is Chelsi Spencer, an English noblewoman who lived in the 17th century and was a member of the influential Spencer family.
While the name Chelsi is relatively modern and has gained popularity in recent decades, its roots can be traced back to the Old English language and the historical settlement of Chelsea in London. Despite its modern usage, the name retains a connection to its linguistic and geographical origins.
People
Chelsi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chelsi 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
Chelsi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chelsi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,888 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chelsi 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 88,157 US residents.
Is Chelsi a common name?
We classify Chelsi as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,043 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chelsi most popular?
The single biggest year for Chelsi was 1991, when 339 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chelsi is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chelsi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,439 people with the name Chelsi, or 1.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,101 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 Chelsi 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 Chelsi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chelsi appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,448 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Chelsi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chelsi is White at 72.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Chelsi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chelsi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.4% (2,491 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 Chelsi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chelsi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chelsi 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 Chelsi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chelsi 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 Chelsi 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 Chelsi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.