How Many People Are Named Chesley?
An estimated 1,659 people in the United States have the first name Chesley. It is used for both genders, with 78.5% male. The average bearer is 47 years old, and Chesley peaked in popularity in 1923 with 48 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Chesley as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Chesley paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
1,659
About 1 in 206,603 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
78.5% confidence
Average Age
47
years old
Peak Year
1923
48 births
Total Registered
2,908
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Chesley
Chesley is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (78.5%) and females (21.5%). Out of 2,908 total births registered, 2,283 were male and 625 were female.
Chesley as a male name
Ranked #9,904 in 2021
7 male births in 2021
Peak: 1923 (48 births)
Chesley as a female name
Ranked #12,404 in 2023
7 female births in 2023
Peak: 1989 (32 births)
Chesley: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Chesley span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 383 babies were registered. Chesley has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Chesley by Decade
How has Chesley tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Chesley by State
Birth registrations for Chesley span all 10 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Tennessee, Georgia. The lowest are in Mississippi, Massachusetts, Kentucky. On average, about 17 Chesleys were registered per state.
Chesley + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Chesley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Chesley
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Chesley: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chesley?
We estimate approximately 1,659 people named Chesley are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 206,603 Americans share this first name.
Is Chesley a common name?
Chesley is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 92.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 2,908 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Chesley most popular?
Chesley reached peak popularity in 1923, when 48 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Chesley is approximately 47 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Chesley a male name?
Chesley is predominantly male. 78.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Chesley Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Chesley Smith, Chesley Johnson, Chesley Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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