Boys' name · since 1914
Chad
240,728 babies named Chad in U.S. Social Security records since 1914, with the highest year being 1972. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #164 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,702 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 240,728
- born since 1914
- 1970s
- peak decade
Chad currently ranks #1702 among boys' names in America, with 240,728 babies recorded since 1914.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chad has been recorded 240,728 times among boys since 1914, currently ranked #1702 nationally and more common than 88% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1970s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1914 to 2025.
- #164 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,702 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 240,728 born since 1914
- 1970s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chad ranks #164 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,702 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 240,728 born since 1914, peaking in the 1970s.
- #164 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,702 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 240,728
- born since 1914
- 1970s
- peak decade
Chad's 240,728 recorded births place it above 99.63% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Chad compares
240,728 Top 2% higher than 98% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Chad's all-time total is 652x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Chad | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 240,728 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 13,392 | 34 | 22,252 |
Chad's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Chad splits its recorded history at 1970: 92% of all births land in the more recent half, 8% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1915 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1972 peak of 13,392 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Chad popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1914–2025
- Peak year (1972)
- 13,392
- Annual births at peak, across 112 years of records
Chad popularity over time - girls
1,039 total births recorded since 1966 (Chad as girls' name)
Chad by decade
1970s is the heaviest window (113,534 births, 47% of the file).
1970s was Chad's strongest decade.
113,534 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 47% of all-time use.
Chad births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 50
1910s
50 births
- 1920s 103
1920s
103 births
- 1930s 157
1930s
157 births
- 1940s 451
1940s
451 births
- 1950s 1,837
1950s
1,837 births
- 1960s 15,902
1960s
15,902 births
- 1970s
1970s
113,534 births
- 1980s
1980s
69,051 births
- 1990s 27,112
1990s
27,112 births
- 2000s 8,516
2000s
8,516 births
- 2010s 3,281
2010s
3,281 births
- 2020s 734
2020s
734 births
What this shows Peak: 1970s at 113,534 births (47% of all-time use).
How Chad compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Chad's total volume
Chad by state
Where Chad concentrates geographically, total births since 1914
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 17,018 | 7.1% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 16,349 | 6.8% |
| #3 | Texas | | 14,360 | 6.0% |
| #4 | Michigan | | 13,050 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 11,862 | 4.9% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 10,791 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Minnesota | | 9,991 | 4.2% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 9,564 | 4.0% |
17,018 of 240,728 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Chad appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Chad? ▼
Where does Chad sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Chad most popular? ▼
Where is Chad most popular? ▼
How long has the name Chad been used? ▼
What names are similar to Chad? ▼
What to do with Chad's data
- Chad's decade-level peak was the 1970s (113,534 total births); usage has since declined to 734 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Chads (17,018 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Chad
Nearby Names Like Chad
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Chad
Compare Chad side by side: Chad vs Charles Chad vs Charlie Chad vs Chase
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Chad
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Chad: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1972)
Similar record span (~111 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1914–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Chad draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.