Chaim
Meaning
“'life', a traditional Jewish name”
Say it: KHY-im (the Ch is a guttural H, as in Hanukkah)
The story
Chaim derives from the Hebrew word chayim, "life", and Behind the Name notes it has been used since medieval times. The American record shows a name that has never stepped backward across a completed decade: about 66 boys in the 1940s, about 350 in the 1950s, about 360 in the 1960s, about 760 in the 1970s, about 1,070 in the 1980s, about 1,510 in the 1990s, about 2,260 in the 2000s, about 3,210 in the 2010s, and about 2,490 so far this decade. Eight consecutive completed decades of growth, each one above the last, straight through every fashion cycle the American century threw at it. A single word for life, a medieval pedigree, and a ledger that has moved in only one direction through every completed decade.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Chaim peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
53 people · the #64,043 first name in Brazil · median age 56
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Chaim
Most people given the name Chaim in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Chaim deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Chaim 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 Chaim fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Chaim travels
Jewish American · A beloved traditional name still given in observant Jewish American families.
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