Recorded 1914–2025 · United States
Chad was most popular in 1972, when 13,441 American babies were given the name — ranking #40 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,627, with 96 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 241,767 people named Chad.
Chad first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1914, which makes it about 111 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 111 of the 112 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 241,767 American births named Chad between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 222,060 are estimated to be alive today.
96 American babies were named Chad in 2025, ranking #3,627 that year.
Chad is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 117 births a year, against 378 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -69% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Chad is a boy’s name — 0.4% of the 241,767 Americans given it were girls and 99.6% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 222,060 Americans named Chad are alive today — 92% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 47 years old, and half are between 40 and 52. That is a narrow band: Chad arrived and faded within about a decade rather than staying in steady use.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Old English · "battle"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Chad on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org