Chantele
A feminine name of French origin meaning "to sing beautifully."
Name Census estimates that about 388 living Americans carry the first name Chantele. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chantele today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chantele births was 1971 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chantele. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Chantele with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
388
~ 1 in 883,387 Americans
Peak year
1971
19 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1999 SSA rank
#12,990
Tracked since 1963
Census
Chantele in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 370 people with the first name Chantele, which placed it at #25,584 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#25,584
National first-name rank
People counted
370
370 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chantele
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chantele is White at 42.7%. The next largest groups are Black (40.8%) and Hispanic (7.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Chantele described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Chantele at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.7% · 158
- Black or African American40.8% · 151
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 29
- Two or more races6.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Chantele: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chantele from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 155 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Chantele remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chantele by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chantele during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chanteles live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chantele
The name Chantele originated from the French language and culture, with its roots traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a feminine form of the French name Chantal, which itself is derived from the Latin word "cantus," meaning "song" or "chant."
During the Middle Ages, the name Chantele gained popularity in France, particularly among the nobility and upper classes. It was often associated with the concept of melodious and harmonious voices, which were highly valued in religious and courtly settings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chantele can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland" (The Song of Roland), where a character named Chantele is mentioned as a skilled singer and musician.
Throughout history, several notable figures bore the name Chantele. In the 14th century, Chantele de Montfort (1307-1349) was a French noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of minstrels and troubadours. Another prominent figure was Chantele de Valois (1388-1439), a French princess and duchess, who was celebrated for her beauty and grace.
During the Renaissance period, Chantele de Châteauneuf (1520-1589) was a renowned French poet and playwright, whose works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience. In the 17th century, Chantele Duval (1648-1715) was a celebrated French actress and dancer, renowned for her performances in the royal courts of Europe.
In more recent times, Chantele Lacroix (1901-1985) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman, who founded the iconic fashion house Chantele Lacroix. Her elegant and sophisticated designs were worn by many influential figures, including royalty and celebrities.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Chantele, a name that has maintained its association with grace, beauty, and artistic expression across various cultures and eras.
People
Chantele + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chantele as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chantele: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chantele?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 388 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chantele going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 883,387 US residents.
Is Chantele a common name?
We classify Chantele as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 419 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chantele most popular?
The single biggest year for Chantele was 1971, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chantele is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chantele in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 370 people with the name Chantele, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,584 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Chantele in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Chantele?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chantele appears almost entirely female. Of the 368 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Chantele?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chantele is White at 42.7%. The next largest groups are Black (40.8%) and Hispanic (7.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Chantele most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chantele in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.7% (158 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chantele in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chantele a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chantele in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chantele still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chantele in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chantele can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Chantele?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.