Girls' name · since 1910
Chelsea
162,884 babies named Chelsea in U.S. Social Security records since 1910, with the highest year being 1992. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #246 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #852 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 162,884
- born since 1910
- 1990s
- peak decade
162,884 babies have been named Chelsea since 1910, making it today's #852 girls' name.
Social Security Administration records show Chelsea recorded 162,884 times among girls since 1910, holding rank #852 nationally today, ahead of 95% of girls, peaking in the 1990s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1910 to 2025.
- #246 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #852 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 162,884 born since 1910
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chelsea ranks #246 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #852 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 162,884 born since 1910, peaking in the 1990s.
- #246 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #852 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 162,884
- born since 1910
- 1990s
- peak decade
Chelsea's 162,884 recorded births place it above 99.65% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Chelsea compares
162,884 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls 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
Chelsea's all-time total is 433x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Chelsea | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 162,884 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 16,177 | 21 | 19,840 |
Chelsea's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Chelsea splits its recorded history at 1985: 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 1910 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1992 peak of 16,177 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Chelsea popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1910–2025
- Peak year (1992)
- 16,177
- Annual births at peak, across 116 years of records
Chelsea popularity over time - boys
451 total births recorded since 1914 (Chelsea as boys' name)
Chelsea by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (84,805 births, 52% of the file).
1990s was Chelsea's strongest decade.
84,805 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 52% of all-time use.
Chelsea births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 24
1910s
24 births
- 1920s 25
1920s
25 births
- 1930s 15
1930s
15 births
- 1940s 5
1940s
5 births
- 1950s 31
1950s
31 births
- 1960s 292
1960s
292 births
- 1970s 3,485
1970s
3,485 births
- 1980s
1980s
43,163 births
- 1990s
1990s
84,805 births
- 2000s 18,024
2000s
18,024 births
- 2010s 10,602
2010s
10,602 births
- 2020s 2,413
2020s
2,413 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 84,805 births (52% of all-time use).
How Chelsea compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Chelsea's total volume
Chelsea by state
Where Chelsea concentrates geographically, total births since 1910
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 17,648 | 10.8% |
| #2 | Texas | | 13,591 | 8.3% |
| #3 | New York | | 10,566 | 6.5% |
| #4 | Florida | | 8,741 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 7,820 | 4.8% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 7,721 | 4.7% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 7,065 | 4.3% |
| #8 | Georgia | | 4,986 | 3.1% |
17,648 of 162,884 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Chelsea appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Chelsea? ▼
Where does Chelsea sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Chelsea most popular? ▼
Where is Chelsea most popular? ▼
How long has the name Chelsea been used? ▼
What names are similar to Chelsea? ▼
What to do with Chelsea's data
- Chelsea's decade-level peak was the 1990s (84,805 total births); usage has since declined to 2,413 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Chelseas (17,648 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 Chelsea
Nearby Names Like Chelsea
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Chelsea
Compare Chelsea side by side: Chelsea vs Cheryl Chelsea vs Cheyenne Chelsea vs Cheri
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Chelsea
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Chelsea: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1992)
Similar record span (~115 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, 1910–2025 (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 Chelsea 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.