boys' name ★ peaked 1996

Chance

Gender Boy · 2% girls Rank 2025 #442 Trend ↓ Falling 35%

A male given name from English, an American pet form of Chauncey, in modern usage also associated with the word chance.

Rank 2025
#442
among boys · ↓24 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
733
named Chance · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,402
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1996
2,293 babies
All-time total
56,010
#477 all-time among boys
First recorded
1883
in Social Security records

Chance popularity over time

56,010 babies have been named Chance since 1883, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 5 5 1 – #919
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 5 5 1 – #3,917
1920s – 12 12 1 +140% #3,930
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – 20 20 2 – #2,668
1950s – 22 22 2 +10% #3,326
1960s 6 536 542 54 +2364% #694
1970s 89 1,840 1,929 193 +256% #469
1980s 124 4,726 4,850 485 +151% #250
1990s 362 13,231 13,593 1,359 +180% #154
2000s 347 14,339 14,686 1,469 +8% #212
2010s 305 14,338 14,643 1,464 0% #215
2020s (to 2025) 155 5,548 5,703 951 -35% #279

Where Chance is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 662 0.39 #468
2027 623 0.36 #483
2028 591 0.35 outside top 500
2029 566 0.33 outside top 500
2030 545 0.32 outside top 500

Where Chance is most popular

Boys named Chance per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.503 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Chance born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 109 1.92 +281%
Louisiana 138 1.35 +168%
South Carolina 131 1.27 +152%
Georgia 301 1.19 +136%
Delaware 16 1.06 +110%
Alabama 112 1.02 +104%
Maryland 117 0.981 +95%
Arkansas 61 0.964 +92%
North Carolina 240 0.940 +87%
Virginia 161 0.849 +69%
Tennessee 135 0.748 +49%
Florida 333 0.703 +40%
Missouri 97 0.700 +39%
Nebraska 30 0.690 +37%
Kentucky 66 0.658 +31%
West Virginia 21 0.643 +28%
Michigan 131 0.640 +27%
Ohio 164 0.619 +23%
Nevada 35 0.614 +22%
Montana 10 0.567 +13%
Oklahoma 50 0.565 +12%
Wisconsin 62 0.523 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 138 0.520 ≈ national
Indiana 83 0.518 ≈ national
Iowa 34 0.493 ≈ national
Connecticut 32 0.473 -6%
Arizona 76 0.465 -8%
Minnesota 56 0.456 -9%
Washington 73 0.446 -11%
New York 179 0.413 -18%
Texas 360 0.409 -19%
Illinois 101 0.395 -21%
Oregon 29 0.382 -24%
Utah 36 0.377 -25%
Colorado 45 0.349 -31%
Idaho 14 0.342 -32%
District of Columbia 5 0.339 -33%
New Mexico 11 0.334 -34%
South Dakota 6 0.322 -36%
Kansas 22 0.321 -36%
North Dakota 5 0.293 -42%
California 265 0.290 -42%
Massachusetts 37 0.269 -47%
New Jersey 53 0.263 -48%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Chance

Chance is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #442 in 2025 with 711 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1883, 56,010 American babies have been named Chance. Its peak came in 1996, when 2,293 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Chance stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Chance?

The median living Chance is about 21 years old; half are between 11 and 29. An estimated 55 thousand people named Chance are alive in the United States today.

median 21 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Chance year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 22 #5,593 711 #442
2024 28 #4,794 762 #418
2023 27 #4,898 853 #377
2022 23 #5,500 985 #340
2021 35 #4,115 1,035 #322
2020 20 #5,904 1,202 #279
2019 30 #4,565 1,214 #284
2018 36 #4,018 1,321 #270
2017 27 #4,953 1,347 #268
2016 33 #4,362 1,347 #272
2015 29 #4,751 1,467 #250
2014 34 #4,286 1,534 #244
2013 34 #4,265 1,520 #237
2012 30 #4,738 1,513 #238
2011 25 #5,401 1,635 #215
2010 27 #5,137 1,440 #244
2009 15 #8,146 1,521 #236
2008 28 #5,172 1,403 #251
2007 37 #4,148 1,472 #244
2006 42 #3,683 1,269 #274
2005 36 #3,965 1,275 #258
2004 50 #3,083 1,321 #250
2003 44 #3,306 1,392 #240
2002 29 #4,296 1,450 #233
2001 35 #3,722 1,542 #224
2000 31 #4,002 1,694 #212
1995 36 #3,162 1,631 #189
1990 22 #4,399 794 #316
1985 6 #9,479 650 #313
1980 12 #5,590 207 #605
1975 15 #4,174 178 #611
1970 5 #8,158 127 #729
1965 – – 36 #1,278
1960 – – 6 #3,722
1955 – – 5 #3,961
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – 5 #3,917
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Chance

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Chance the Rapper Chance the Rapper American rapper (born 1993) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Chance, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Chance?

The median living Chance is about 21 years old. Half of all living Chances are between 11 and 29 years old.

How many people named Chance are alive today?

An estimated 55 thousand people named Chance are alive in the United States, based on 56,010 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Chance mean?

A male given name from English, an American pet form of Chauncey, in modern usage also associated with the word chance.

How popular is the name Chance in 2025?

Chance ranked #442 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 711 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Chance?

56,010 babies have been named Chance in the United States since 1883, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Chance most popular?

Chance peaked in 1996, when 2,293 newborns received the name.

Is Chance a boy or girl name?

Chance is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Chance rising or falling?

Chance is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Chance become more popular?

Chance is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 545 boys named Chance in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Chance?

Well-known people named Chance include Chance the Rapper (singer).

Names like Chance

Names that sound and feel close to Chance: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Chance with similar names → More names starting with C →