Chenae
A feminine name of African-American origin meaning "unique" or "rebirth".
Name Census estimates that about 105 living Americans carry the first name Chenae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chenae today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chenae births was 1991 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chenae. 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 Chenae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
105
~ 1 in 3,264,327 Americans
Peak year
1991
20 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1996 SSA rank
#13,932
Tracked since 1980
Census
Chenae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 121 people with the first name Chenae, which placed it at #50,149 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
#50,149
National first-name rank
People counted
121
121 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
61.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chenae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chenae is Black at 61.2%. The next largest groups are White (19.0%) and Hispanic (9.1%). 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 Chenae 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 Chenae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American61.2% · 74
- White19.0% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 11
- Two or more races6.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.1% · 5
Popularity
Chenae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chenae from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 56 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chenae 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 Chenae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chenae
The name Chenae is believed to have its origins in the French language. It is a variation of the name Chéné, which is derived from the Old French word "chesne," meaning oak tree. The name is thought to have been used as a surname initially, with people taking on the name as a reference to their place of residence or occupation near oak trees.
During the Middle Ages, the name Chenae appeared in various historical records and documents across France. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Chenae de Montfort, a noblewoman who lived in the 12th century and was known for her charitable works and patronage of the arts.
In the 14th century, a French poet named Chenae de Rouvray gained recognition for her lyrical works celebrating nature and the beauty of the French countryside. Her poems often featured references to oak trees, reflecting the meaning of her name.
As the name gained popularity, it spread to other parts of Europe, particularly in regions with strong French cultural influence. In the 16th century, Chenae von Stein, a German noblewoman, was a prominent figure at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
In the 17th century, Chenae Dubois, a French explorer and cartographer, played a significant role in mapping the territories of what is now Canada. Her detailed maps and journals provided invaluable information about the geography and indigenous peoples of the region.
Another notable bearer of the name was Chenae Delacroix, a French artist who lived in the 19th century. She was renowned for her vibrant landscape paintings, often depicting scenes of oak trees and rural settings, paying homage to the meaning of her name.
As the name Chenae continued to evolve, it gained popularity as a given name, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. While its usage as a first name is relatively modern, it still carries the historical significance and connection to its French roots and the symbolism of the mighty oak tree.
People
Chenae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chenae 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
Chenae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chenae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 105 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chenae 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 3,264,327 US residents.
Is Chenae a common name?
We classify Chenae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 110 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chenae most popular?
The single biggest year for Chenae was 1991, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chenae is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chenae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 121 people with the name Chenae, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,149 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 Chenae 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 Chenae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chenae leans strongly female. 126 people counted with this name were female (96.2%), compared with 5 male bearers (3.8%). 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 Chenae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chenae is Black at 61.2%. The next largest groups are White (19.0%) and Hispanic (9.1%). 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 Chenae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chenae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.2% (74 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 Chenae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chenae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chenae 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 Chenae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chenae 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 Chenae 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 Chenae?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.