Boys' name · since 1942

Chaim

Chaim has 12,072 recorded births since 1942 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2022 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#1,081 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#666 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
12,072
born since 1942
2010s
peak decade

Chaim currently ranks #666 among boys' names in America, with 12,072 babies recorded since 1942.

Social Security Administration records show Chaim recorded 12,072 times among boys since 1942, holding rank #666 nationally today, ahead of 95% of boys, peaking in the 2010s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1942 to 2025.

  • #1,081 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #666 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 12,072 born since 1942
  • 2010s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chaim ranks #1,081 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #666 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 12,072 born since 1942, peaking in the 2010s.

#1,081 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#666 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
12,072
born since 1942
2010s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%95.2%
Chaim vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Chaim's 12,072 recorded births place it above 97.62% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

10 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

10 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.

How Chaim compares

12,072 Top 8% higher than 92% 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

Chaim's all-time total is 33x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Chaim Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 12,072 369 358,536
Peak-year births 462 34 22,252

Chaim's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Chaim's SSA record in two at 1984 and the more recent half accounts for 84% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 16%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1944, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2022 peak of 462, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Chaim popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1942–2025

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (2022)
462
Annual births at peak, across 84 years of records
0100200300400500 194219541965197619871998200920202025 411

Chaim popularity over time - girls

6 total births recorded since 1985 (Chaim as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 6 births
6 1985 6

Chaim by decade

2010s is the heaviest window (3,209 births, 27% of the file).

2010s was Chaim's strongest decade.

3,209 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.

Chaim births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 3,209 births (27% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Chaim 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 Chaim's total volume

Chaim vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 4.6%-57, 4.3%-146, 2.7%-93, 5.1%-146, 4.6%-146, 4.3%-146, 1.5%-59, 5.3%-117, 3.7%-72, 4.1%-59, 6.3%-144, 2.4%-111, 3.1%-76, 4.8%-42, 7%Chaim-84, 3.8%Chaim
Chaim vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Chaim by state

Where Chaim concentrates geographically, total births since 1942

Regionally concentrated
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Chaim
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
8,150 67.5%
#2 New Jersey
2,419 20.0%
#3 Maryland
149 1.2%
#4 California
80 0.7%
#5 Illinois
70 0.6%
#6 Florida
62 0.5%
#7 Ohio
26 0.2%
#8 Connecticut
11 0.1%
New York share of Chaim's total US births 67.5%
Even split

8,150 of 12,072 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 10 reporting states.

Chaim appears in 10 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Chaim?
12,072 babies have been named Chaim since 1942. All-time, it sits at #1,081 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #666 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 2022 with 462 births.
Where does Chaim sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chaim ranks #1,081 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #666 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Chaim most popular?
Chaim was most popular in the 2010s decade with 3,209 total births. The single peak year was 2022.
Where is Chaim most popular?
The top states for the name Chaim are New York (8,150 births), New Jersey (2,419 births), Maryland (149 births).
How long has the name Chaim been used?
The SSA has tracked Chaim since 1942 -- 84 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Chaim?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Charles, Chad, Charlie, Chase, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Chaim's data

  • Chaim's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (3,209 total births) through the 2020s (2,485) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • New York records the most Chaims (8,150 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Chaim

Nearby Names Like Chaim

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Chaim

Names with a similar popularity rank to Chaim

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Chaim: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1942–2025 (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 Chaim 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.