Chaya
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "life" or "living".
Name Census estimates that about 14,726 living Americans carry the first name Chaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chaya today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chaya births was 2022 (503 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chaya. 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 Chaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
15K
~ 1 in 23,275 Americans
Peak year
2022
503 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
1989 SSA rank
#599
Tracked since 1947
Census
Chaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,307 people with the first name Chaya, which placed it at #2,287 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
#2,287
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
11,307 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaya is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Chaya 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 Chaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 10,350
- Black or African American3.2% · 358
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 285
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 158
- Two or more races1.3% · 144
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Chaya
Out of the 15,180 babies given the name Chaya since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Chaya as a male name
- Ranked #8,086 in 1989
- 5 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1981 (5 births)
Chaya as a female name
- Ranked #599 in 2024
- 502 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (503 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chaya appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,308 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Chaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chaya from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 4,122 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Chaya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chaya 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 Chaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Chaya, while Tennessee, North Carolina, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 852 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chaya
The name Chaya has its origins in the Hebrew language, and it is believed to have emerged during the ancient times of the Middle East. The name is derived from the Hebrew word "chai," which means "life" or "living," signifying vitality and vigor.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Chaya can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where it appears as the name of a woman mentioned in the Book of Ezra. This biblical reference dates back to the 5th century BCE, indicating the antiquity of this name.
In various Jewish traditions and texts, Chaya is often associated with concepts of longevity, vitality, and spiritual sustenance. The name carries a symbolic meaning, reflecting the desire for a life filled with energy, health, and abundance.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Chaya. One prominent example is Chaya Mushka Schneerson (1901-1988), the wife of the revered Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. She was known for her dedication to educational and humanitarian initiatives within the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Another historical figure with the name Chaya is Chaya Kaufman Datner (1898-1942), a Polish-Jewish writer and educator who contributed significantly to Yiddish literature. Her works explored themes of Jewish identity, culture, and the experiences of women.
Chaya Leah Weissmandl (1901-1986) was a Holocaust survivor and educator who played a crucial role in preserving the legacy of the Jewish community in Slovakia. She worked tirelessly to establish educational institutions and ensure the continuity of Jewish traditions.
In the realm of literature, Chaya Deitsch (1925-1986) was a celebrated Yiddish poet and writer. Her works explored themes of identity, displacement, and the complexities of the human experience, earning her recognition within the Yiddish literary community.
Another notable figure is Chaya Malka Lemberger (1923-2009), a Polish-born Holocaust survivor and educator who dedicated her life to teaching and preserving the memory of the Holocaust. Her memoir, "Lemberger's Choice," recounts her experiences during World War II and her efforts to rebuild her life after the atrocities.
These examples illustrate the diverse array of individuals who have carried the name Chaya throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural, religious, and intellectual traditions.
People
Chaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chaya 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
Chaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,726 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chaya 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 23,275 US residents.
Is Chaya a common name?
We classify Chaya as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,180 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Chaya was 2022, when 503 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chaya is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,307 people with the name Chaya, or 3.74 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,287 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 Chaya 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 Chaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chaya appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,308 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Chaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaya is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Chaya most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (10,350 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 Chaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chaya a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Chaya 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 Chaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chaya 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 Chaya 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 Chaya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.