Boys' name · since 1915
Chess
Chess has 29 recorded births since 1915 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1953 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #26,026 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 29
- born since 1915
- 1910s
- peak decade
Chess is not among the current top-ranked boys names; 29 have been recorded since 1915.
Chess has 29 recorded births among boys since 1915, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 1910s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1915 to 2020.
- #26,026 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- 29 born since 1915
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chess ranks #26,026 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 29 born since 1915, peaking in the 1910s.
- #26,026 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 29
- born since 1915
- 1910s
- peak decade
Chess's 29 recorded births place it above 42.29% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Chess's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Chess splits its recorded history at 1953: 62% of all births land in the more recent half, 38% 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 1953 peak of 8 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Chess popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1915–2020
- Peak year (1953)
- 8
- Annual births at peak, across 106 years of records
Chess by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (11 births, 38% of the file).
1910s was Chess's strongest decade.
11 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 38% of all-time use.
Chess births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s
1910s
11 births
- 1950s
1950s
8 births
- 1990s
1990s
5 births
- 2020s
2020s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 11 births (38% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Chess's data
- Chess's usage has stayed within range of its 1910s decade-level peak (11 total births) through the 2020s (5) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Chess
Nearby Names Like Chess
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Chess
Compare Chess side by side: Chess vs Chester Chess vs Chet Chess vs Chevy
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Chess: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1953)
Similar record span (~105 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, 1915–2020 (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 Chess 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.