Chad
Old English Ceadda, a seventh-century Mercian saint, probably from a Celtic word for battle.
1972peak year
No. 25best rank (1972)
241,767babies since 1880
—outside top 1000 in 2025
Popularity, 1880–2025
Chad first shows up in the national records in 1914. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1969 to 1990. Its biggest year was 1972, when 13,392 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 25 nationally. All told, 241,767 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Chadd (2,456) (total births since 1880)
Explore Chad interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 50 | No. 1975 |
| 1920s | 103 | No. 2143 |
| 1930s | 157 | No. 1453 |
| 1940s | 451 | No. 778 |
| 1950s | 1,837 | No. 477 |
| 1960s | 15,902 | No. 69 |
| 1970s | 113,534 | No. 25 |
| 1980s | 69,051 | No. 39 |
| 1990s | 27,112 | No. 85 |
| 2000s | 8,516 | No. 236 |
| 2010s | 3,281 | No. 545 |
| 2020s | 734 | No. 1218 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.