Chyna
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the word "China".
Name Census estimates that about 5,657 living Americans carry the first name Chyna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chyna today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chyna births was 1999 (573 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chyna. 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 Chyna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.7K
~ 1 in 60,589 Americans
Peak year
1999
573 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,425
Tracked since 1979
Census
Chyna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,496 people with the first name Chyna, which placed it at #4,229 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
#4,229
National first-name rank
People counted
4.5K
4,496 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chyna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chyna is Black at 71.7%. The next largest groups are White (12.8%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Chyna 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 Chyna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.7% · 3,222
- White12.8% · 575
- Two or more races6.7% · 301
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 294
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 21
Popularity
Chyna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chyna from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,168 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chyna 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 Chyna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chynas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. Texas, New York, Georgia recorded the most babies named Chyna, while Oregon, Arizona, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 147 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chyna
The name Chyna has its origins in the ancient Greek language, derived from the word "Χήνα" (Chena), which means "goose". This name first appeared in historical records around the 5th century BC, when it was used as a nickname or pet name for individuals with a connection to geese or poultry.
During the Hellenistic period, the name Chyna gained popularity across the Mediterranean region, particularly in Greece and the Greek colonies in Asia Minor. It was often associated with individuals involved in agriculture or animal husbandry, reflecting the importance of geese in ancient Greek society.
One of the earliest known references to the name Chyna can be found in the works of the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it as a character's name in his comedy "The Birds" (414 BC). In this play, Chyna was portrayed as a bird-like character, possibly reflecting the name's avian origins.
Throughout the centuries, the name Chyna has been borne by various notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Chyna of Ephesus (c. 200 BC), a respected philosopher and teacher who contributed to the development of Stoic philosophy in the ancient world.
Another notable figure was Chyna of Alexandria (c. 370 AD), a Christian martyr who was executed for her beliefs during the reign of the Roman Emperor Valens. Her story is recorded in the writings of early Christian historians and hagiographies.
During the Byzantine era, Chyna Palaiologina (c. 1260-1281) was a prominent figure, born into the ruling Palaiologos dynasty. She was known for her exceptional beauty and was briefly betrothed to the future King of Serbia, Stefan Uroš II Milutin, before her untimely death.
In the Renaissance period, Chyna Morandi (1516-1588) was an Italian painter and engraver from Modena, renowned for her portraits and religious works. Her artistic talents were highly regarded in her lifetime, and she was one of the few female artists to achieve recognition during the Renaissance.
Finally, in more recent history, Chyna Whyne (1920-2004) was a prominent Australian author and poet, known for her works exploring themes of identity, migration, and the immigrant experience. Her poetry collections, such as "Whispers from the Wattle" (1965), earned her critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
People
Chyna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chyna 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
Chyna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chyna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,657 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chyna 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 60,589 US residents.
Is Chyna a common name?
We classify Chyna as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,777 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chyna most popular?
The single biggest year for Chyna was 1999, when 573 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chyna is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chyna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,496 people with the name Chyna, or 1.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,229 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 Chyna 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 Chyna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chyna appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,498 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Chyna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chyna is Black at 71.7%. The next largest groups are White (12.8%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Chyna most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chyna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.7% (3,222 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 Chyna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chyna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chyna 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 Chyna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chyna 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 Chyna 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 are named Chyna?
Find out how many Americans are named Chyna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.