Chidinma
A feminine Nigerian name meaning "God gives me."
Name Census estimates that about 333 living Americans carry the first name Chidinma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chidinma today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chidinma births was 1996 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chidinma. 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
333
~ 1 in 1,029,292 Americans
Peak year
1996
21 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,389
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Chidinma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chidinma from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 101 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Chidinma remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chidinma 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 Chidinma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chidinmas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chidinma
The name Chidinma originates from the Igbo language spoken in southeastern Nigeria. It is a compound name composed of two Igbo words: "Chi" meaning God or the supreme deity, and "dinma" meaning to be good, kind, or beautiful. Thus, the name Chidinma translates to "God is beautiful" or "God is kind."
This name is believed to have originated in the pre-colonial era, before the widespread adoption of Christianity in the region. It reflects the traditional Igbo belief system that revered a supreme deity and emphasized virtues like kindness and beauty.
While the exact origin of the name is difficult to trace, it is likely that Chidinma was a name given to children in the hope that they would embody the qualities of beauty and kindness associated with the supreme deity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chidinma appears in the literary work "Things Fall Apart" by the renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, published in 1958. In this novel, Chidinma is the name of a character, indicating the name's use in the Igbo culture during the early 20th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Chidinma. One example is Chidinma Ekile (born 1991), a Nigerian singer and songwriter known for her hit songs like "Kedike" and "Emi Ni Baller." Another is Chidinma Okeke (born 1988), a Nigerian writer and journalist known for her work on gender and human rights issues.
Other notable individuals with the name include Chidinma Anya (born 1976), a Nigerian-American lawyer and author, and Chidinma Okebalama (born 1982), a Nigerian chemist and academic who has made significant contributions to the field of nanotechnology.
It is worth mentioning that the name Chidinma has also been used in various literary works and cultural productions, further solidifying its place in the Igbo cultural heritage.
People
Chidinma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chidinma 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
Chidinma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chidinma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 333 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chidinma 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 1,029,292 US residents.
Is Chidinma a common name?
We classify Chidinma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 339 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chidinma most popular?
The single biggest year for Chidinma was 1996, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chidinma is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Chidinma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chidinma 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.