Chestine
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly derived from the French word "chêtain" meaning "chestnut-colored".
Name Census estimates that about 92 living Americans carry the first name Chestine. It is a predominantly female name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Chestine today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chestine births was 1925 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chestine. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Chestine is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Chestines were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Chestine. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
92
~ 1 in 3,725,591 Americans
Peak year
1925
17 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1924 SSA rank
#4,459
Tracked since 1914
Census
Chestine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 204 people with the first name Chestine, which placed it at #37,948 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
#37,948
National first-name rank
People counted
204
204 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
52.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chestine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chestine is Black at 52.5%. The next largest groups are White (39.7%) and Hispanic (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 Chestine 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 Chestine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.5% · 107
- White39.7% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 4
- Two or more races2.0% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Chestine
Chestine leans heavily female at 98.4% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Chestine as a male name
- Ranked #4,459 in 1924
- 5 male births in 1924
- Peak: 1924 (5 births)
Chestine as a female name
- Ranked #6,915 in 1964
- 5 female births in 1964
- Peak: 1925 (17 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chestine leans strongly female. 182 people counted with this name were female (88.8%), compared with 23 male bearers (11.2%).
Popularity
Chestine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chestine from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 87 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chestine 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 Chestine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chestines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chestine
The name Chestine is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the Old English word "cestan" or "chesten," meaning chestnut tree. The name likely emerged in the early medieval period, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
It is believed to have originated in regions where Old English was spoken, primarily in what is now England and parts of southeastern Scotland. The name may have been initially used as a descriptive name, perhaps referring to someone who lived near a chestnut tree or grove.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chestine can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the Great Survey of England completed in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Chestina," likely referring to a woman of that time.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Chestine de Warrenne was a member of the powerful de Warrenne family, which held significant lands and titles in England during the Norman period. She was born around 1120 and was the daughter of William de Warrenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey.
Another historical figure with the name Chestine was a 13th-century English noblewoman, Chestine de Beaumont, born around 1225. She was the daughter of Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, and was married to Sir William de Stuteville.
In the 14th century, there is record of a Chestine de Montfort, born around 1310, who was a member of the influential Montfort family in England. She was the daughter of Peter de Montfort and married Sir John de Vere.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure named Chestine Willoughby lived in England in the late 15th century. She was born around 1475 and was the daughter of Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke.
While not as common today, the name Chestine has a rich history rooted in Old English and has been borne by various notable individuals throughout the centuries, particularly in England during the medieval and Renaissance periods.
People
Chestine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chestine 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
Chestine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chestine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 92 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chestine 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 3,725,591 US residents.
Is Chestine a common name?
We classify Chestine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 312 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chestine most popular?
The single biggest year for Chestine was 1925, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chestine is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chestine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 204 people with the name Chestine, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,948 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 Chestine 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 Chestine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chestine leans strongly female. 182 people counted with this name were female (88.8%), compared with 23 male bearers (11.2%). 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 Chestine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chestine is Black at 52.5%. The next largest groups are White (39.7%) and Hispanic (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 Chestine most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chestine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.5% (107 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 Chestine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chestine a female name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Chestine 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 Chestine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chestine 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 Chestine 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 are named Chestine?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Chestine, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.