How Many People Are Named Chay?
Complete statistics for the name Chay: rarity score, gender breakdown, age distribution, historical popularity, worldwide data, meaning and origin.
Chay is a name with roots meaning "life" or "tea," depending on the cultural tradition. There are roughly 410 people living in the US with this name today, making it incredibly rare at just 1 in 803,988 Americans. It's been slowly declining since its peak of 24 births in 1992.
📖 Meaning & Origin
Life-path number 1 represents leadership, independence, and ambition. It's associated with individuals who are natural pioneers, driven to forge their own path with confidence and determination.
🌍 Worldwide Usage
⚥ Gender Distribution
📊 Births by Age Group
Avg Cohort Age: 35All 429 recorded US births for this name, grouped by the age those individuals would be today. Not adjusted for survival, so the number living today is lower (see the living estimate above).
📈 Popularity Over Time
Peak: 1992Annual US births from SSA records · Trend: Slowly declining
🏆 Name Scorecard
Scores 0–100 based on statistical analysis of US and worldwide name frequency
📜 Chay Through the Generations
Chay is a name that's carried almost entirely by younger and middle-aged Americans, with zero bearers over the age of 60. That tells us it didn't really appear on the American naming scene until the late 1960s or early 1970s. The bulk of people named Chay, about 298 individuals, fall in the 30-to-60 age bracket, while 131 are under 30. This split shows the name gained its modest foothold in the 1980s and peaked in 1992 with 24 births recorded that year. Since then, it's been on a slow decline, and today fewer babies receive the name each year. The average bearer is around 35 years old, placing Chay squarely in a millennial-era sweet spot. Globally, the picture looks quite different. Chay ranks #42,287 worldwide with 17,153 living bearers, and it's most commonly found in Cambodia, where it functions as a traditional family or given name. In the US, though, it remains a very rare choice that sits comfortably between classic and modern sensibilities.
📍 State Distribution (Top 10)
⭐ Famous People Named Chay
Chay is a masculine name. It is either a diminutive of Charles, ultimately derived from Germanic Karal, Karel, Karl, meaning “man”, or it may be Gaelic in origin, meaning “Fairy Tale”. This unusual name surfaced into the public in Britain in the mid-1970s, with the publicity for yachtsman Chay Blyth. It is generally pronounced Sh ay, and sometimes pronounced Ch ay.…
Full list on Wikipedia →🌿 Related Names by Origin
Other names sharing Chay's Khmer roots
📄 About the Name Chay
How Many People Have the Name Chay?
Based on Social Security Administration birth records and age-adjusted survival modeling, approximately 1,386 people in the United States currently share the name Chay. That works out to roughly 1 in every 239,141 Americans, placing it in the Very Rare category.
Is Chay a Common or Rare Name?
Chay is classified as Very Rare. The rarity scale runs from Very Common (shared by millions) through Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Very Rare. Understanding where a name sits helps parents gauge uniqueness, genealogists narrow down records, and individuals settle debates about their own name's distinctiveness.
What Does the Name Chay Mean?
Chay means "Life or tea" and comes from Khmer origins. The name carries a life-path numerology number of 1.
Gender Breakdown
Of all recorded bearers of Chay in SSA data, approximately 87% are male and 13% are female.
When Was Chay Most Popular?
The name Chay reached peak popularity in 1992, with 24 babies registered that year. Current trend: Slowly declining.
How Is This Data Calculated?
All figures are statistical estimates, not exact government headcounts. The underlying data comes from the SSA National Baby Names dataset. Full methodology is explained on the methodology page.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How many people are named Chay?
Approximately 1,386 people named Chay live in the United States today. All-time US births on record total 1,386. That works out to roughly 1 in 239,141 Americans.
Is Chay a rare name?
Chay is classified as Very Rare in the United States. Approximately 1 in every 239,141 Americans has this name.
What does the name Chay mean?
Chay means "Life or tea" and comes from Khmer origins.
Is Chay more male or female?
Based on SSA records, 87% of people named Chay are male and 13% are female.
When was Chay most popular?
Chay peaked in 1992 with 24 births that year. Current trend: Slowly declining.
How accurate are these statistics?
All figures are statistical estimates based on SSA birth records and age-adjusted modeling. See the methodology page for full details.