Cheral
An English feminine name likely derived from the Hebrew name Sherah.
Name Census estimates that about 49 living Americans carry the first name Cheral. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cheral today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cheral births was 1949 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cheral. 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
- • The typical person named Cheral is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cherals were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cheral. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
49
~ 1 in 6,994,986 Americans
Peak year
1949
10 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1970 SSA rank
#8,184
Tracked since 1947
Census
Cheral in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 177 people with the first name Cheral, which placed it at #41,393 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
#41,393
National first-name rank
People counted
177
177 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cheral
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cheral is White at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.4%). 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 Cheral 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 Cheral at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.9% · 122
- Black or African American22.0% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 6
- Two or more races3.4% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
Popularity
Cheral: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cheral from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 47 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cheral 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 Cheral 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 Cheral
The name Cheral has its origins in the Sanskrit language, tracing back to ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "chal," which means "to move" or "to wander." The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 6th century BCE, found in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts.
In these ancient texts, Cheral was often associated with nomadic tribes and wanderers, reflecting the meaning of the word from which it originated. The name was particularly popular among certain Hindu communities in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Cheral was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 5th century CE. His writings and literary works played a significant role in preserving and promoting the Sanskrit language during that era.
In the 9th century CE, a Buddhist monk named Cheral Dharmakirti gained recognition for his contributions to the study of Buddhist philosophy and logic. His teachings and writings were widely studied and referenced by scholars of his time.
During the medieval period, a Persian traveler named Cheral Ibn Battuta, born in 1304 CE, embarked on extensive journeys across Africa, Asia, and Europe. His travelogues and accounts of the places he visited became invaluable historical records and provided insights into the cultures and societies of that era.
In the 16th century, a renowned Indian classical musician and composer, Cheral Tansen, born in 1506 CE, gained immense popularity at the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. His contributions to the development of Hindustani classical music and his innovative musical compositions have left a lasting impact on Indian music.
Another notable figure with the name Cheral was a 17th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer, Cheral Bhaskaracharya, born in 1625 CE. He made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and astrology, and his works were widely studied and referenced by scholars of his time.
While the name Cheral has its roots in ancient India, it has gained popularity and recognition across various cultures and regions over time, owing to the historical figures who bore this name and their remarkable contributions to various fields.
People
Cheral + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cheral 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
Cheral: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cheral?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 49 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cheral 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 6,994,986 US residents.
Is Cheral a common name?
We classify Cheral as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 72 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cheral most popular?
The single biggest year for Cheral was 1949, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cheral is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cheral in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 177 people with the name Cheral, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,393 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 Cheral 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 Cheral?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cheral appears almost entirely female. Of the 175 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Cheral?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cheral is White at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.4%). 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 Cheral most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cheral in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.9% (122 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 Cheral in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cheral a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cheral 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 Cheral still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cheral 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 Cheral 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 Cheral?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Cheral at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.