Unisex name · since 1880
Chesley
2,294 babies named Chesley in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1923. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #3,024 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #7,200 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,294
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
2,294 babies have been named Chesley since 1880, making it today's #7200 unisex name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chesley has been recorded 2,294 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #7200 nationally and more common than 48% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1920s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #3,024 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #7,200 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 2,294 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chesley ranks #3,024 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #7,200 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 2,294 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #3,024 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #7,200 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,294
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Chesley's 2,294 recorded births place it above 93.35% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
9 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Chesley compares
2,294 Top 20% higher than 80% 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
Chesley's all-time total is 6x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Chesley | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 2,294 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 48 | 34 | 22,252 |
Chesley's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Chesley's SSA record in two at 1951 and the more recent half accounts for 41% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 59%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1880, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1923 peak of 48, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Chesley popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1923)
- 48
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Chesley popularity over time - girls
625 total births recorded since 1921 (Chesley as girls' name)
Chesley by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (378 births, 16% of the file).
1920s was Chesley's strongest decade.
378 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 16% of all-time use.
Chesley births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 46
1880s
46 births
- 1890s 61
1890s
61 births
- 1900s 66
1900s
66 births
- 1910s
1910s
241 births
- 1920s
1920s
378 births
- 1930s
1930s
270 births
- 1940s
1940s
263 births
- 1950s
1950s
218 births
- 1960s 151
1960s
151 births
- 1970s
1970s
161 births
- 1980s
1980s
165 births
- 1990s 113
1990s
113 births
- 2000s 65
2000s
65 births
- 2010s 66
2010s
66 births
- 2020s 30
2020s
30 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 378 births (16% of all-time use).
How Chesley 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 Chesley's total volume
Chesley by state
Where Chesley concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 55 | 2.4% |
| #2 | Tennessee | | 21 | 0.9% |
| #3 | Georgia | | 16 | 0.7% |
| #4 | South Carolina | | 10 | 0.4% |
| #5 | California | | 6 | 0.3% |
| #6 | Alabama | | 5 | 0.2% |
| #7 | Kentucky | | 5 | 0.2% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 5 | 0.2% |
55 of 2,294 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 9 reporting states.
Chesley appears in 9 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Chesley? ▼
Where does Chesley sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Chesley most popular? ▼
Where is Chesley most popular? ▼
Is Chesley a unisex name? ▼
How long has the name Chesley been used? ▼
What names are similar to Chesley? ▼
What to do with Chesley's data
- Chesley's decade-level peak was the 1920s (378 total births); usage has since declined to 30 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Chesleys (55 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Chesley
Nearby Names Like Chesley
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Chesley
Compare Chesley side by side: Chesley vs Chester Chesley vs Chet Chesley vs Chevy
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Chesley
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Chesley: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1923)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Chesley 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.