Chesley
Chesley was given to 11 boys in 2025, #7,279 among boys’ names; 2,919 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,580 Americans named Chesley and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (54% of everyone recorded); the median is 42 years old and half are between 30 and 59.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Chesley by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Chesley mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Chesley is “a male given name.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Chesley?
#7,279 among boys’ names, 2025
Chesley rose from #8,886 in 2015 to #7,279 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 4.2 to 6.4 per million.
48 babies in 1923, the peak
Chesley peaked in 1923, when 48 boys were given it, #1,010 among boys’ names. The 11 births of 2025 are 23% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | under 5 | 11 | #7,279 | |
| 2023 | 7 | #12,412 | under 5 | |
| 2022 | 10 | #9,841 | under 5 | |
| 2021 | 7 | #12,477 | 7 | #9,907 |
| 2020 | 5 | #15,617 | 12 | #6,700 |
| 2019 | 7 | #12,719 | under 5 | |
| 2018 | 7 | #12,760 | under 5 | |
| 2017 | 8 | #11,883 | under 5 | |
| 2016 | under 5 | 8 | #8,995 | |
| 2015 | 6 | #14,894 | 8 | #8,886 |
Every recorded year (139)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 10 | #10,294 | 10 | #7,643 |
| 2013 | 8 | #12,230 | 11 | #7,113 |
| 2012 | 10 | #10,599 | 10 | #7,645 |
| 2011 | under 5 | 6 | #11,062 | |
| 2010 | under 5 | 13 | #6,404 | |
| 2009 | 10 | #10,849 | 10 | #7,782 |
| 2008 | 8 | #12,837 | under 5 | |
| 2007 | 5 | #18,202 | under 5 | |
| 2006 | 10 | #10,757 | under 5 | |
| 2005 | 11 | #9,583 | 13 | #5,917 |
| 2004 | 7 | #13,039 | 6 | #10,173 |
| 2003 | 6 | #14,223 | 5 | #11,164 |
| 2002 | 5 | #15,944 | 11 | #6,145 |
| 2001 | 8 | #11,216 | 10 | #6,531 |
| 2000 | 10 | #9,299 | 10 | #6,386 |
| 1999 | 9 | #9,650 | 6 | #8,876 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,700 | 14 | #4,679 |
| 1997 | 12 | #7,358 | 12 | #4,996 |
| 1996 | 12 | #7,227 | 9 | #6,064 |
| 1995 | 26 | #3,994 | 11 | #5,179 |
| 1994 | 23 | #4,397 | 10 | #5,513 |
| 1993 | 20 | #4,855 | 9 | #5,831 |
| 1992 | 22 | #4,555 | 10 | #5,286 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,715 | 16 | #3,658 |
| 1990 | 25 | #4,026 | 16 | #3,621 |
| 1989 | 32 | #3,261 | 16 | #3,471 |
| 1988 | 25 | #3,715 | 12 | #3,939 |
| 1987 | 17 | #4,694 | 12 | #3,757 |
| 1986 | 16 | #4,765 | 11 | #3,917 |
| 1985 | 17 | #4,490 | 18 | #2,730 |
| 1984 | 16 | #4,519 | 18 | #2,627 |
| 1983 | 20 | #3,838 | 25 | #2,097 |
| 1982 | 16 | #4,559 | 17 | #2,723 |
| 1981 | 15 | #4,773 | 14 | #3,055 |
| 1980 | 17 | #4,354 | 22 | #2,289 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,189 | 27 | #1,951 |
| 1978 | 18 | #3,942 | 25 | #1,973 |
| 1977 | 7 | #7,685 | 17 | #2,574 |
| 1976 | 6 | #8,334 | 19 | #2,345 |
| 1975 | 8 | #6,595 | 18 | #2,379 |
| 1974 | 8 | #6,348 | 10 | #3,359 |
| 1973 | 6 | #7,578 | under 5 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 13 | #2,678 | |
| 1971 | 6 | #7,535 | 18 | #2,214 |
| 1970 | 5 | #8,193 | 14 | #2,520 |
| 1969 | 6 | #6,754 | 9 | #3,098 |
| 1968 | under 5 | 9 | #2,936 | |
| 1967 | 7 | #5,546 | 16 | #1,983 |
| 1966 | under 5 | 16 | #1,975 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 17 | #1,925 | |
| 1964 | under 5 | 15 | #2,129 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 18 | #1,912 | |
| 1962 | 5 | #6,719 | 17 | #1,978 |
| 1961 | under 5 | 15 | #2,159 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 19 | #1,866 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 27 | #1,522 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 18 | #1,905 | |
| 1957 | under 5 | 18 | #1,895 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 19 | #1,836 | |
| 1955 | under 5 | 14 | #2,155 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 30 | #1,386 | |
| 1953 | under 5 | 28 | #1,430 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 21 | #1,669 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 23 | #1,555 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 20 | #1,661 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 24 | #1,512 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 19 | #1,714 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 21 | #1,657 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 29 | #1,300 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 29 | #1,229 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 32 | #1,175 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 36 | #1,142 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 25 | #1,387 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 16 | #1,769 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 32 | #1,187 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 23 | #1,401 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 26 | #1,315 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 28 | #1,267 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 21 | #1,473 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 29 | #1,250 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 32 | #1,176 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 22 | #1,462 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 25 | #1,393 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 20 | #1,595 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 44 | #1,039 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 39 | #1,112 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 37 | #1,171 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 35 | #1,233 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 31 | #1,304 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 34 | #1,230 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 39 | #1,156 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 48 | #1,010 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 37 | #1,184 | |
| 1921 | 5 | #5,240 | 36 | #1,204 |
| 1920 | under 5 | 42 | #1,092 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 34 | #1,209 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 42 | #1,040 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 35 | #1,135 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 32 | #1,162 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 36 | #1,070 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 29 | #1,057 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 11 | #1,695 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 10 | #1,638 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 12 | #937 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 7 | #1,172 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 5 | #1,412 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 9 | #938 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 6 | #1,139 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 9 | #848 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 6 | #1,086 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 7 | #924 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 10 | #754 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 7 | #870 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 7 | #872 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 9 | #751 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 8 | #798 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 8 | #838 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 11 | #635 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 5 | #1,067 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 6 | #864 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 7 | #822 | |
| 1889 | under 5 | 5 | #993 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 5 | #1,062 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 6 | #858 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 6 | #848 | |
| 1884 | under 5 | 6 | #873 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 6 | #856 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 7 | #720 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 5 | #937 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Chesley a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 2,919 Americans recorded as Chesley, 21% are girls and 79% boys. In 2025 it went to 11 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Chesley: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Chesley, and how old are they?
1,580 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 54% of the 2,919 Americans ever recorded as Chesley. The median Chesley alive today is 42 years old; half are between 30 and 59.
The 2020 Census counted 1,610 people named Chesley (603 women and girls, 1,007 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,665 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 96 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 261 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 317 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 522 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 243 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 141 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Chesley
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Chesley and names like it
- Compare Chesley and DorseyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sChesley peaked in 1923.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Chesley since 1910.
- The top names of 1923The year the most babies were named Chesley.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Chesley alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with CMost given first.