Boys' name · peaked in 1996
Chance name popularity since 1925
55,988 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Chance (2.5% girls, 97.5% boys). Half of them were born in 2004 or earlier, so the typical Chance is about 22 years old in 2026. Chance peaked in 1996 as the #154 name for boys, and it ranked #442 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 55,988
- Named Chance, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #442
- for boys in 2025 (711 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 97.5% boys
- 1,388 girls · 54,600 boys
- Most popular in
- Nevada
- 2.92× its national share
Peak year is the year Chance 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.
Chance births per year, 1925–2025
1996 was the biggest year for Chance both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1979 and 1984, Chance became 3.1× more common, from 1 in 6,420 baby boys to 1 in 2,050.
- Steepest fall: Between 2020 and 2025, its share of baby boys fell by 40%, from 1 in 1,440 to 1 in 2,400.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Chance's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Chance.
Decade by decade
Babies named Chance 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 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 20 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 0 | 22 | #3,961 |
| 1960s | 6 | 536 | #1,278 |
| 1970s | 89 | 1,840 | #611 |
| 1980s | 124 | 4,726 | #313 |
| 1990s | 362 | 13,231 | #189 |
| 2000s | 347 | 14,339 | #258 |
| 2010s | 305 | 14,338 | #250 |
| 2020–25 | 155 | 5,548 | #442 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.
Generation fingerprint
43.3% of babies named Chance from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Chance is most popular
The index compares Chance'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 Chance.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 2.92× | 555 |
| Montana | 2.61× | 408 |
| Oklahoma | 2.56× | 1,782 |
| Idaho | 2.22× | 471 |
| Utah | 2.20× | 998 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Chance's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Chance.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Chance (1996).
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