Chi
A feminine Japanese name meaning "eternal".
Name Census estimates that about 1,248 living Americans carry the first name Chi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 57.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Chi today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chi births was 1982 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chi. 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 Chi with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Chi sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 274,643 Americans
Peak year
1982
48 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,937
Tracked since 1970
Census
Chi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,338 people with the first name Chi, which placed it at #2,281 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
#2,281
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
11,338 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
91.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.3%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Chi 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 Chi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander91.6% · 10,386
- White3.3% · 371
- Black or African American2.7% · 308
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 144
- Two or more races1.0% · 111
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 18
Gender
Gender distribution for Chi
Chi is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,300 total registrations, 554 (42.6%) were male and 746 (57.4%) were female.
Chi as a male name
- Ranked #5,937 in 2024
- 15 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1985 (24 births)
Chi as a female name
- Ranked #6,423 in 2024
- 18 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (32 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chi on both sides of the split. Of the 11,341 people counted with this name, 5,357 were male (47.2%) and 5,984 were female (52.8%).
Popularity
Chi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chi from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 359 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Chi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chi 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 Chi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Chi, while Minnesota, Florida, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chi
The name Chi has its origins in several ancient languages and cultures, tracing back thousands of years. In Greek, the word "chi" represents the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet, which was derived from the Phoenician letter "khei". This letter has symbolic significance and is often used in scientific and mathematical formulas.
In Chinese, the name Chi is a transliteration of the character "???", which means "to breathe" or "air". This character is deeply rooted in Chinese philosophy and is associated with concepts of vitality, energy, and the life force that animates all living beings. The name Chi has been used in Chinese culture for centuries, appearing in various literary and philosophical texts.
In Vietnamese, the name Chi is a common given name, derived from the word "ch??" which means "sibling" or "younger sibling". It is often used as a term of endearment and reflects the importance of family and kinship ties in Vietnamese culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chi dates back to the 3rd century BC, when a Chinese philosopher named Chi Ye lived during the Qin Dynasty. He was known for his teachings on the principles of yin and yang and the concept of wu wei, or effortless action.
Another notable figure with the name Chi was Chi Pu, a 4th-century Chinese calligrapher and poet who was highly regarded for his artistic talents and contributions to the development of Chinese calligraphy.
In the realm of religion, the name Chi appears in various Buddhist texts and teachings. One example is Chi Kung, a Chinese spiritual practice that involves cultivating and channeling internal energy through meditation and physical exercises.
Moving to the Western world, Chi Onwurah is a prominent British politician and engineer who was born in 1965. She has served as a Member of Parliament and is known for her advocacy of diversity and inclusion in the technology sector.
In the field of sports, Chi Cheng was an American professional basketball player who played in the NBA during the 1970s and 1980s. He was born in 1948 and is remembered for his defensive prowess and tenacity on the court.
Literature has also seen its share of notable figures with the name Chi. Chi Li, a Chinese-American author and journalist born in 1957, has written several books exploring issues of identity, culture, and the immigrant experience.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and diverse cultural influences that have shaped the name Chi over the centuries, highlighting its enduring significance and versatility across various domains and regions.
People
Chi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chi 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
Chi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,248 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chi 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 274,643 US residents.
Is Chi a common name?
We classify Chi as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,300 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chi most popular?
The single biggest year for Chi was 1982, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chi is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,338 people with the name Chi, or 3.75 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,281 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 Chi 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 Chi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chi on both sides of the split. Of the 11,341 people counted with this name, 5,357 were male (47.2%) and 5,984 were female (52.8%). 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 Chi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.3%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Chi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (10,386 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 Chi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chi a female name?
Yes, 57.4% of people registered as Chi 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 Chi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chi 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 Chi 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 common is the name Chi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.