Chanz
A diminutive of the French name Chance, meaning "good luck".
Name Census estimates that about 243 living Americans carry the first name Chanz. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Chanz today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chanz births was 2000 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chanz. 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.
People living today
243
~ 1 in 1,410,512 Americans
Peak year
2000
17 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2016 SSA rank
#8,992
Tracked since 1981
Census
Chanz in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 246 people with the first name Chanz, which placed it at #33,566 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
#33,566
National first-name rank
People counted
246
246 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
44.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chanz
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chanz is Black at 44.3%. The next largest groups are White (30.9%) and Hispanic (13.0%). 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 Chanz 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 Chanz at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American44.3% · 109
- White30.9% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino13.0% · 32
- Two or more races7.7% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
Popularity
Chanz: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chanz from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 109 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Chanz remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chanz 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 Chanz during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chanz
The given name Chanz has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, with roots dating back to the 5th century AD. The name is thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic word "hantsu," which meant "ready" or "prepared." Over time, this word evolved into various forms across different Germanic dialects, eventually leading to the modern spelling of "Chanz."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chanz can be found in the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century manuscript containing a translation of the Bible into the Gothic language. In this text, the name appears as "Hanzs," referring to a minor character mentioned in the Book of Acts.
During the Middle Ages, the name Chanz gained popularity among Germanic tribes in central and northern Europe. It was particularly common among the Frankish and Saxon peoples, who were influential in shaping the cultural landscape of the region.
In the 9th century, a notable figure named Chanz the Younger (c. 810 - 876) was a Frankish scholar and theologian who authored several treatises on religious philosophy and scriptural interpretation. His works were widely studied in monastic circles and contributed to the intellectual discourse of the time.
Another historical figure bearing the name Chanz was a 12th-century Flemish knight, Chanz de Boulogne (c. 1150 - 1212), who participated in the Third Crusade and is mentioned in chronicles for his bravery in battle.
During the Renaissance period, the name Chanz enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, particularly in the German-speaking regions of Europe. One notable bearer of the name was Chanz Holbein the Younger (1497 - 1543), a renowned German artist and printmaker whose portraits and woodcuts are considered masterpieces of the Northern Renaissance.
In the 18th century, Chanz Haydn (1732 - 1809), an Austrian composer of the Classical era, contributed significantly to the development of the symphony and string quartet genres. His works, such as "The Creation" and "The Seasons," are widely celebrated and remain an integral part of the classical music repertoire.
Throughout its long history, the name Chanz has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, warriors, and religious figures. While its popularity has fluctuated over time and across different regions, the name's enduring presence serves as a testament to its rich cultural heritage and significance within the Germanic linguistic traditions.
People
Chanz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chanz 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
Chanz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chanz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 243 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chanz 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 1,410,512 US residents.
Is Chanz a common name?
We classify Chanz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 248 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chanz most popular?
The single biggest year for Chanz was 2000, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chanz is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chanz in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 246 people with the name Chanz, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,566 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 Chanz 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 Chanz?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chanz leans strongly male. 233 people counted with this name were male (95.5%), compared with 11 female bearers (4.5%). 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 Chanz?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chanz is Black at 44.3%. The next largest groups are White (30.9%) and Hispanic (13.0%). 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 Chanz most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chanz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.3% (109 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 Chanz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chanz a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chanz in the SSA data are male. 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 Chanz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chanz 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 Chanz 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 many people have the name Chanz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.