Chett
A masculine name of French origin meaning "child of fair hair".
Name Census estimates that about 355 living Americans carry the first name Chett. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Chett today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chett births was 2022 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chett. 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
355
~ 1 in 965,505 Americans
Peak year
2022
19 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,462
Tracked since 1957
Census
Chett in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 345 people with the first name Chett, which placed it at #26,793 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
#26,793
National first-name rank
People counted
345
345 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chett
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chett is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Chett 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 Chett at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 300
- Black or African American5.2% · 18
- Two or more races3.8% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
Popularity
Chett: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chett from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 79 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
Chett 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 Chett 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 Chett
The name Chett has its roots in the Old English language, originating from the Anglo-Saxon era in Britain, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th century AD. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "cett," which means "a small, rough-coated dog" or "a bitch." This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a nickname or a term of endearment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chett can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and resources in England conducted in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Chet" and "Chette," indicating its use during the Norman period.
In the 12th century, a prominent figure named Chett de Pembroke was mentioned in the chronicles of the Norman conquest of Wales. He was a knight who fought alongside the Norman armies and was granted lands in Pembrokeshire for his service. This historical reference suggests that the name had gained some social standing by that time.
Moving forward to the 14th century, a notable figure named Chett Wycliffe lived during the reign of Edward III. He was a respected scholar and theologian who played a crucial role in the translation of the Bible into English, known as the Wycliffe Bible. His contributions to the English language and religious literature earned him a place in history.
In the 16th century, a renowned English playwright, Chett Marlowe, was born in 1564. He is best known for his works such as "Doctor Faustus" and "The Jew of Malta," which were highly influential during the Elizabethan era. Marlowe's literary achievements and his tragic death at a young age have made him a significant figure in the history of English literature.
Another notable figure was Chett Cromwell, born in 1599, who was a prominent military leader and statesman during the English Civil War. He served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and played a crucial role in the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republican government. Cromwell's influence on English history and politics remains a subject of study and debate.
These examples illustrate the historical use of the name Chett across various periods and contexts, from its Old English origins to its appearance in notable figures throughout British history. While the name may have evolved in spelling and popularity over time, its roots can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon era, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the English language and its naming traditions.
People
Chett + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chett 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
Chett: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chett?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 355 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chett 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 965,505 US residents.
Is Chett a common name?
We classify Chett as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 368 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chett most popular?
The single biggest year for Chett was 2022, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chett is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chett in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 345 people with the name Chett, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,793 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 Chett 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 Chett?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chett appears almost entirely male. Of the 347 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Chett?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chett is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Chett most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (300 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 Chett in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chett a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chett in the SSA data are male. 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 Chett still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chett 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 Chett 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 have Chett as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.