Chasten
To purify, cleanse, or correct by punishment or suffering.
Name Census estimates that about 332 living Americans carry the first name Chasten. It is a predominantly male name (98.5% of registrations). The average person named Chasten today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chasten births was 1999 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chasten. 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
332
~ 1 in 1,032,393 Americans
Peak year
1999
15 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,619
Tracked since 1986
Census
Chasten in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 298 people with the first name Chasten, which placed it at #29,601 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
#29,601
National first-name rank
People counted
298
298 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chasten
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chasten is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (25.8%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). 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 Chasten 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 Chasten at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.0% · 167
- Black or African American25.8% · 77
- Two or more races8.4% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Chasten
Chasten leans heavily male at 98.5% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Chasten as a male name
- Ranked #12,619 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (15 births)
Chasten as a female name
- Ranked #14,868 in 1999
- 5 female births in 1999
- Peak: 1999 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chasten leans strongly male. 250 people counted with this name were male (84.5%), compared with 46 female bearers (15.5%).
Popularity
Chasten: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chasten from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 99 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Chasten remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chasten 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 Chasten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chastens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chasten
The name Chasten is a unique and intriguing one with a rich history. Its origins can be traced back to the Old English language, where it derives from the word "chastin," meaning "to chastise or discipline." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with someone who was strict or disciplined in their ways.
In the early medieval period, the name Chasten was predominantly found in various regions of England, particularly in the northern counties. It was relatively uncommon, but records indicate that it was used by both men and women during this time. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book, a great survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, where a landowner named Chasten is mentioned.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Chasten maintained a modest presence, though it was never widespread. It is believed that some individuals with this name may have been associated with the religious clergy or monastic orders, as the concept of discipline and self-control was highly valued in these circles.
One notable figure who bore the name Chasten was a 13th-century monk from the Benedictine order, known as Chasten of Canterbury (c. 1220 - 1289). He was renowned for his scholarly works on theology and his efforts in preserving ancient manuscripts.
In the 16th century, during the English Renaissance, a playwright named Chasten Marlowe (1564 - 1593) gained recognition for his contributions to Elizabethan theater. He is credited with writing plays such as "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" and "The Jew of Malta."
Moving forward to the 17th century, a notable individual named Chasten Winthrop (1609 - 1676) was a prominent figure in the early colonial history of New England. He served as the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and played a crucial role in shaping the religious and political foundations of the region.
Another individual of note was Chasten Bronte (1816 - 1855), the renowned English novelist and poet, best known for her classic works such as "Jane Eyre" and "Villette." Her literary contributions have had a lasting impact on English literature.
Throughout its history, the name Chasten has remained relatively uncommon, yet it has been carried by a diverse array of individuals, from religious scholars and playwrights to colonial leaders and literary giants. While its usage may have waxed and waned over the centuries, the name continues to retain a certain uniqueness and intrigue, reflecting its roots in discipline and self-control.
People
Chasten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chasten 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
Chasten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chasten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chasten 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 1,032,393 US residents.
Is Chasten a common name?
We classify Chasten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 337 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chasten most popular?
The single biggest year for Chasten was 1999, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chasten is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chasten in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 298 people with the name Chasten, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,601 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 Chasten 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 Chasten?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chasten leans strongly male. 250 people counted with this name were male (84.5%), compared with 46 female bearers (15.5%). 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 Chasten?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chasten is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (25.8%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). 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 Chasten most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chasten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.0% (167 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 Chasten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chasten a male name?
Yes, 98.5% of people registered as Chasten 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 Chasten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chasten 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 Chasten 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 Americans are named Chasten?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.