Name Awesome

Chauncey

#4,421 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Norman surname transferred into given-name use

Chauncey has been given to 10,193 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #4,421 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1981, with 173 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 95% boys, 5% girls all-time.

Babies named Chauncey, 2025

1 in 144,000

Chauncey over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Chauncey over time

In 2025, Chauncey went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

18802025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Chauncey: meaning, origin, and history

Norman surname transferred into given-name use

surname transfer

What Chauncey means

Chauncey is a given name.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Chauncey is used in English.

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃɔn.si/ for Chauncey.

The naming story behind Chauncey

Chauncey is a given name adopted from Norman surname. This establishes the immediate naming route. A surname transfer is different from a direct translation of the modern given-name spelling; the family name may have its own earlier derivation.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From the Norman name based on several locations in France called Chancé. See Old French chance.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Chauncey (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Chauncey is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Chauncey is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include chance.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 9,685 boys were recorded with the name Chauncey between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 173 in 1981; its best national rank was #284 in 1890.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,080 in 2020 to #4,421 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,359 in 2015 to #4,421 in 2025.

In the United States, 508 girls were recorded with the name Chauncey between 1917 and 2014. Its highest annual count was 26 in 1992; its best national rank was #3,667 in 1982.

How common is Chauncey?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 144,000
23 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 74,300
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#4,421
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
99,910 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Chauncey sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 99,910 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Chauncey. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Chaunceys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Chauncey was born before 1977 — so the typical Chauncey is around 48 today.

Median birth year
1977
About 48 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
14.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
18.2%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
6,878
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 14.6% of all recorded uses (1,410).

Is Chauncey rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−1,501
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,341
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−2,062
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.42×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
13.3%
Peak was 1981 (173)
Years since peak
44
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#284
1890

Spellings of Chauncey

Chauncey is not the most common spelling — Chance is, with 81.0% against Chauncey's 14.4%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Chauncey is used

Across 1910–2025, Chauncey was most concentrated in Florida — about 1 in 14,286 boys, against 1 in 35,681 across all states with data. It was least common in Kansas (1 in —).

07 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Florida1 in 14,286
  2. 2Georgia1 in 16,667
  3. 3Mississippi1 in 20,000
  4. 4New York1 in 20,000
  5. 5Virginia1 in 25,000
  6. 6Alabama1 in 33,333
  7. 7Illinois1 in 33,333
  8. 8Maryland1 in 33,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Chauncey has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Chauncey around the world

Where Chauncey ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1999–1999
    #2,943
    in 1999
  • South Australia
    1992–1992
    #538
    in 1992

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Chauncey

People whose public names include Chauncey, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Chauncey by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#4,421
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,341
Best rank ever
#284
1890
Peak year
1981
173 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
9,685
Count in 2025
23

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#3,667
1982
Peak year
1992
26 that year
First recorded
1917
Last recorded
2014
All-time count
508
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Chauncey

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ChanceyChanningChadwickCharltonChandlerChadrickCharleyChaytonChaimChampionChancellorChaceCharlestonTraceyChayseChayceChapmanChazChasenStaceyChayanneChanceCharlotteChaseton

Names with a curve like Chauncey

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Chauncey, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

GregorioFedericoLeopoldoJacquesFidelGenaroEugenioCorwinRosendoDelvinSamualMarshal

Sibling names for Chauncey

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Chauncey

Top names of 1981, Chauncey's peak yearThe 1980s in fullOther names that peaked in 1890More old man namesBoys' names starting with C