Boys' name · peaked in 1973
Chad name popularity since 1925
241,660 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Chad. Half of them were born in 1978 or earlier, so the typical Chad is about 48 years old in 2026. Chad peaked in 1973 as the #25 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 241,660
- Named Chad, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,701 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 1,039 girls · 240,621 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 2.89× its national share
Peak year is the year Chad made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Chad births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1972. Measured as a share of all babies, Chad peaked in 1973.
- Fastest rise: Between 1962 and 1967, Chad became 7.5× more common, from 1 in 4,460 baby boys to 1 in 592.
- Steepest fall: Between 1998 and 2003, its share of baby boys fell by 54%, from 1 in 1,060 to 1 in 2,290.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Chad's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Chad.
Decade by decade
Babies named Chad in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 46 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 157 | #1,457 |
| 1940s | 0 | 451 | #1,007 |
| 1950s | 0 | 1,837 | #477 |
| 1960s | 50 | 15,902 | #209 |
| 1970s | 564 | 113,534 | #27 |
| 1980s | 380 | 69,051 | #57 |
| 1990s | 39 | 27,112 | #144 |
| 2000s | 6 | 8,516 | #377 |
| 2010s | 0 | 3,281 | #760 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 734 | #1,701 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
56.9% of babies named Chad from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Chad is most popular
The index compares Chad's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Chad.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2.89× | 2,200 |
| South Dakota | 2.81× | 2,157 |
| Iowa | 2.63× | 8,073 |
| Hawaii | 2.38× | 1,791 |
| Minnesota | 2.27× | 9,991 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Chad and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Chad (this page) | 240,621 | 1973 |
| Chadd | 2,456 | 1974 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Chad's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Chad.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Chad (1973).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data