boy's name
Chase
CHAYSS
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 199,617
the United States
#192
2025 births
Chase is a boy's name of Old French origin meaning "huntsman." It comes from chace, a hunt, and named someone who hunted — or in some cases simply lived near a hunting ground.
- Chase is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in 2009, when 7,494 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,710 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1885.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Chase over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 |
| 1890s | 5 |
| 1910s | 46 |
| 1920s | 66 |
| 1930s | 43 |
| 1940s | 57 |
| 1950s | 85 |
| 1960s | 216 |
| 1970s | 1,206 |
| 1980s | 16,802 |
| 1990s | 41,406 |
| 2000s | 58,655 |
| 2010s | 51,020 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 15,346 |
What Chase means
Chase means a hunter, or one connected with the hunt. The Old French chace names the activity, and the surname applied both to the person doing it and to someone living beside a chase, an unenclosed hunting ground.
Where Chase comes from
Chase comes from the Old French chacier, to hunt, from a Vulgar Latin form of captare, to seize — the same root as catch, which English borrowed twice from different French dialects, giving chase and catch as doublets. In England a chase was specifically an unenclosed tract reserved for hunting, distinct from a forest, which is why Cannock Chase carries the word. The surname reached America early and became a first name there in the twentieth century.
Chase in use
Our data shows Chase falling and it first appears in our records in 1885. Its use is almost entirely American, and its curve places it with Cole, Connor and Tucker — short surname-names that peaked around the turn of the century and have declined since.
How popular is Chase?
In 2025, Chase was given to 1,939 babies in the United States, ranking #192 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Chase is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Chase
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Chase also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Chase over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Chase in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Chase
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Chase — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Chase
What does the name Chase mean?
Chase means "huntsman," from the Old French chace, a hunt.
Are chase and catch related?
Yes — English borrowed the same Latin root twice from different French dialects, giving both words.
What is a chase in English land terms?
An unenclosed tract reserved for hunting, distinct from a forest — as in Cannock Chase.
How popular is the name Chase?
In 2025, Chase was given to 1,939 babies in the United States, ranking #192 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Chase a girl's or a boy's name?
Chase is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Chase?
Chase has 1 syllable.
When was Chase most popular?
Chase peaked in 2009, when 7,494 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Chase a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Chase currently ranks #192 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.