Chenille
A French feminine name referring to a velvety silk yarn.
Name Census estimates that about 197 living Americans carry the first name Chenille. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chenille today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chenille births was 2002 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chenille. 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.
People living today
197
~ 1 in 1,739,870 Americans
Peak year
2002
16 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2007 SSA rank
#15,907
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Chenille: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chenille from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 72 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
Chenille 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 Chenille 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 Chenille
Chenille is a feminine given name with its origins rooted in the French language. The name is derived from the French word "chenille," which means "caterpillar." It is believed to have emerged during the 18th century in France, possibly as a nickname or pet name for a child with curly or fuzzy hair resembling a caterpillar's texture.
One of the earliest documented uses of the name Chenille can be found in the records of the French playwright and poet Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, who lived from 1732 to 1799. In his play "The Barber of Seville," one of the characters is named Chenille, although it is unclear whether this was intended as a given name or a descriptive nickname.
The name Chenille gained some popularity in France during the 19th century, with a few notable individuals bearing this name. One such person was Chenille Durand (1804-1878), a French poet and essayist who wrote extensively on the themes of nature and the countryside.
Another early recorded instance of the name Chenille can be found in the writings of the French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850). In his novel "The Human Comedy," a minor character named Chenille is mentioned, though her role is relatively insignificant.
In the late 19th century, the name Chenille made its way to the United States, likely brought over by French immigrants. One of the earliest recorded Americans with the name was Chenille LaBarge (1856-1932), a seamstress and entrepreneur from Louisiana who founded a successful clothing business in New Orleans.
Another notable individual with the name Chenille was Chenille Bourgeois (1878-1957), a French-Canadian artist and painter known for her vibrant landscapes and portraits. Her works were exhibited in several galleries throughout Canada and the United States during her lifetime.
While the name Chenille has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by a few other individuals of note, such as Chenille Fontaine (1902-1984), a French actress and dancer who performed in various Parisian cabarets during the 1920s and 1930s, and Chenille Mercier (1919-2005), a Swiss sculptor and installation artist whose works were displayed in several prominent museums across Europe.
People
Chenille + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chenille 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
Chenille: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chenille?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 197 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chenille 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 1,739,870 US residents.
Is Chenille a common name?
We classify Chenille as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 207 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chenille most popular?
The single biggest year for Chenille was 2002, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chenille is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Chenille a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chenille 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.