How rare is the name Chi?

11,341 people in the United States have the first name Chi, about 1 in 26,632. It ranks #2,281 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

CHI

#2,281

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
11,341
About
1 in 26,632
This common or more
79.2%
Who bears it

Of the 11,341 people named Chi, 91.6% reported their origin as Asian or Pacific Islander, 3.3% as White and 2.7% as Black. 52.8% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Chi peaked in 1982, when 48 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19702025
Peak year
1982
Births that year
48
In 2025*
26 ▼46%
Recorded as
used for both

At least 1,326 babies have been given the name since 1970. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Chi by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1980s, when it ranked #4,261. The largest share of babies named Chi, 37.9%, were born between 1981 and 1996, as millennials.

1970s#4,598253
1980s#4,261359
1990s#7,300232
2000s#12,689145
2010s#14,203129
2020s#7,198208
Generation X 1965–8021.9%
Millennials 1981–9637.9%
Generation Z 1997–1216.6%
2013 and later23.6%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Either side of Chi

#2,279 Khalid · 11,363#2,280 Long · 11,343#2,282 Wilfred · 11,337#2,283 Cristobal · 11,329

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Chi, most common first.

#6,078 Che · 2,686#7,072 Chia · 2,190#7,970 Chu · 1,850#8,392 Chai · 1,729#8,988 Cha · 1,578#11,131 Cho · 1,169#13,062 Choi · 935#13,165 Chiu · 924

Also a last name

As a last name, Chi ranks #4,052 of 156,621, with 8,510 people. See Chi as a last name

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