Chad
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Meaning
meaning uncertain (name of a 7th-century English saint)
The story
Chad comes from the Old English name Ceadda, whose meaning is unknown. Scholars have proposed a link with an Old Welsh word for battle, but that remains a possibility, not a translation. A seventh-century English bishop and saint named Chad kept the personal name in religious use, especially among Catholics, long before it became broadly fashionable. The African country called Chad has a different name source, so the shared spelling does not connect the two histories. In American records the given name begins rising in the 1950s, grows sharply through the 1960s, reaches its clear peak in the 1970s, and then falls in every decade that follows. That compact boom made Chad sound modern even though Ceadda is more than a thousand years old. Its honest meaning is uncertain; its historical path is not.
How popular is Chad around the world?
In the United States, 734 babies were named Chad between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 23 boys named Chad were born in 2024, ranked 1,071st among boys that year.
Chad is on the official records of the United States, Canada, South Australia, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 30,000
In the United States, 734 babies were named Chad between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Chad peaked in the 1970s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 16,000
In Canada, 23 boys named Chad were born in 2024, ranked 1,071st among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Chad in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 150,000
In England and Wales, 4 boys named Chad were born in 2025, ranked 4,275th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 29 people in Brazil were named Chad, ranked 96,655th, with a median age of 37.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
last on record 2024
Chad is not on the 2025 record for France, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Ireland
last on record 2016
Chad is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Chad is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2001
Chad is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2013
Chad is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Chad
Most people given the name Chad in the United States were born between 1970 and 1989. The Chad you meet today is most often in his 40s or 50s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Chad deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Chad truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Chad fits with your family’s names and surname.
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