Chenxi
A Chinese feminine name meaning morning light or dawn.
Name Census estimates that about 44 living Americans carry the first name Chenxi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Chenxi today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chenxi births was 2017 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chenxi. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Chenxi. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
44
~ 1 in 7,789,871 Americans
Peak year
2017
12 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,624
Tracked since 2012
Census
Chenxi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 527 people with the first name Chenxi, which placed it at #19,863 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
#19,863
National first-name rank
People counted
527
527 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
93.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chenxi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chenxi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Black (1.3%). 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 Chenxi 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 Chenxi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.0% · 490
- White4.7% · 25
- Black or African American1.3% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Chenxi
Chenxi leans heavily female at 88.6% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Chenxi as a male name
- Ranked #12,624 in 2017
- 5 male births in 2017
- Peak: 2017 (5 births)
Chenxi as a female name
- Ranked #13,791 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chenxi on both sides of the split. Of the 531 people counted with this name, 233 were male (43.9%) and 298 were female (56.1%).
Popularity
Chenxi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chenxi from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 28 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Chenxi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chenxi 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 Chenxi 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 Chenxi
The name Chenxi is derived from Chinese, and it can be traced back to ancient times. It is believed to have originated during the Zhou Dynasty, which ruled from the 11th to the 3rd century BC. The name is composed of two characters, "Chen" and "Xi," which together signify grace, beauty, and excellence.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Chenxi can be found in the classic Chinese text, "The Book of Songs," which dates back to the 6th century BC. This ancient collection of poetry and songs mentions a woman named Chenxi, who was renowned for her elegance and virtue. However, details about her life and the specific context in which her name appeared are scarce.
In the Tang Dynasty, which spanned from the 7th to the 10th century AD, a famous courtesan named Chenxi rose to prominence. She was celebrated for her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and skill in the arts of poetry and music. Her name became synonymous with elegance and refinement during that era.
Throughout Chinese history, several notable figures have borne the name Chenxi. One such person was Chenxi, a renowned painter who lived during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). Her delicate and exquisite brush strokes captured the beauty of nature, earning her widespread acclaim among art connoisseurs.
Another prominent figure was Chenxi, a Confucian scholar and philosopher who lived during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). He was known for his deep understanding of the Confucian classics and his influential writings on ethics and morality.
In more recent times, Chenxi Huang (born 1965) is a Chinese artist and calligrapher who has gained international recognition for her unique blend of traditional Chinese art forms with contemporary styles. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.
Additionally, Chenxi Yu (born 1971) is a Chinese-American writer and translator. She has published several works of fiction and has received numerous awards for her literary achievements, including the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award.
The name Chenxi has a rich historical legacy, evoking images of grace, beauty, and excellence. While its usage may have evolved over time, it remains a cherished name in Chinese culture, carrying the weight of ancient traditions and artistic accomplishments.
People
Chenxi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chenxi 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
Chenxi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chenxi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 44 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chenxi 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 7,789,871 US residents.
Is Chenxi a common name?
We classify Chenxi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 44 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chenxi most popular?
The single biggest year for Chenxi was 2017, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chenxi is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chenxi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 527 people with the name Chenxi, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,863 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 Chenxi 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 Chenxi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chenxi on both sides of the split. Of the 531 people counted with this name, 233 were male (43.9%) and 298 were female (56.1%). 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 Chenxi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chenxi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Black (1.3%). 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 Chenxi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chenxi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (490 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 Chenxi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chenxi a female name?
Yes, 88.6% of people registered as Chenxi 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 Chenxi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chenxi 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 Chenxi 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 Chenxi?
Find out how many people share the name Chenxi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.