Chaun
A masculine French name meaning "bald", derived from "Chauvin".
Name Census estimates that about 422 living Americans carry the first name Chaun. It is a predominantly male name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Chaun today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chaun births was 1980 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chaun. 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
422
~ 1 in 812,214 Americans
Peak year
1980
19 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2017 SSA rank
#6,940
Tracked since 1964
Census
Chaun in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 469 people with the first name Chaun, which placed it at #21,580 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
#21,580
National first-name rank
People counted
469
469 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
50.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chaun
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaun is Black at 50.3%. The next largest groups are White (34.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Chaun 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 Chaun at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.3% · 236
- White34.1% · 160
- Two or more races5.5% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Chaun
Chaun leans heavily male at 97.5% of total registrations, but 11 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Chaun as a male name
- Ranked #11,022 in 2017
- 6 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1980 (19 births)
Chaun as a female name
- Ranked #6,940 in 1967
- 5 female births in 1967
- Peak: 1964 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chaun leans strongly male. 384 people counted with this name were male (81.0%), compared with 90 female bearers (19.0%).
Popularity
Chaun: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chaun from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 122 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chaun 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 Chaun 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 Chaun
The name Chaun is believed to have its origins in ancient Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages of the Indian subcontinent. Derived from the word "Chandan," which translates to "sandalwood," the name is thought to have been initially bestowed upon individuals born under auspicious astrological circumstances or those with a connection to the fragrant wood.
While its precise origins are shrouded in the mists of time, the name Chaun can be traced back to various Hindu scriptures and historical texts from the Indian subcontinent. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name appears in the Mahabharata, an ancient Sanskrit epic that dates back to approximately the 8th century BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Chaun. One such figure was Chaun the Wise, a renowned philosopher and scholar from the Mauryan Empire, who is believed to have lived during the 3rd century BCE. His writings on ethics and spirituality were highly influential during his time and continue to be studied by scholars to this day.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Chaun the Brave, a fearless warrior who lived during the 11th century CE in what is now modern-day Pakistan. His exploits on the battlefield and unwavering courage in the face of adversity have been immortalized in numerous folk tales and ballads that have been passed down through generations.
In the realm of arts and culture, Chaun the Poet, a 16th-century mystic and wordsmith from the Mughal Empire, left an indelible mark on the literary traditions of the region. His poignant verses, often laden with deep spiritual insights, remain widely celebrated and recited to this day.
Chaun the Explorer, born in 1672 in what is now southern India, was an intrepid adventurer who embarked on numerous voyages across the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. His detailed accounts of the lands and cultures he encountered during his travels have been invaluable sources of information for historians and anthropologists alike.
Lastly, Chaun the Reformer, a social activist and educator who lived in the late 19th century, dedicated his life to advocating for the rights of marginalized communities and promoting education for all. His pioneering efforts laid the groundwork for many of the progressive reforms that were implemented in the region during the early 20th century.
People
Chaun + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chaun 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
Chaun: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chaun?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 422 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chaun 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 812,214 US residents.
Is Chaun a common name?
We classify Chaun as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 446 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chaun most popular?
The single biggest year for Chaun was 1980, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chaun is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chaun in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 469 people with the name Chaun, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,580 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 Chaun 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 Chaun?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chaun leans strongly male. 384 people counted with this name were male (81.0%), compared with 90 female bearers (19.0%). 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 Chaun?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaun is Black at 50.3%. The next largest groups are White (34.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Chaun most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chaun in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.3% (236 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 Chaun in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chaun a male name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Chaun 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 Chaun still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chaun 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 Chaun 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 Chaun?
See how many people share the name Chaun on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.