Head to head · Boys' names
Chozen vs Corbin
#523 vs #512 in 2025
Corbin is a whisker ahead (#512 vs #523 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Corbin is stepping back from its peak, Chozen is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Chozen has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Corbin leads 5 measures of 6; Chozen leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1890s: Chozen —, Corbin #983 — Corbin higher
- 1900s: Chozen —, Corbin #1058 — Corbin higher
- 1910s: Chozen —, Corbin #1830 — Corbin higher
- 1920s: Chozen —, Corbin #2242 — Corbin higher
- 1930s: Chozen —, Corbin #2363 — Corbin higher
- 1940s: Chozen —, Corbin #2078 — Corbin higher
- 1950s: Chozen —, Corbin #1938 — Corbin higher
- 1960s: Chozen —, Corbin #1505 — Corbin higher
- 1970s: Chozen —, Corbin #1047 — Corbin higher
- 1980s: Chozen —, Corbin #969 — Corbin higher
- 1990s: Chozen —, Corbin #393 — Corbin higher
- 2000s: Chozen #9924, Corbin #282 — Corbin higher
- 2010s: Chozen #8434, Corbin #238 — Corbin higher
- 2020s: Chozen #1503, Corbin #430 — Corbin higher
Corbin stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Chozen | Corbin |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #983 |
| 1900s | — | #1058 |
| 1910s | — | #1830 |
| 1920s | — | #2242 |
| 1930s | — | #2363 |
| 1940s | — | #2078 |
| 1950s | — | #1938 |
| 1960s | — | #1505 |
| 1970s | — | #1047 |
| 1980s | — | #969 |
| 1990s | — | #393 |
| 2000s | #9924 | #282 |
| 2010s | #8434 | #238 |
| 2020s | #1503 | #430 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Chozen
Chosen — selected, picked out
The z is a modern American spelling choice; the word behind it is the ordinary English past participle of "choose."
ċēosan (Old English, "to choose") → chosen → Chosen → Chozen
How it traveled
" The word carries particular weight in English Bible translations, where a chosen people and a chosen one are among the most quoted phrases in the language, and that resonance is what most word-names of this kind draw on. Chozen with a z is a recent American formation, appearing in the national birth records only this century and rising since.
Corbin
raven, crow
From Old French corbin, a diminutive of corb 'raven', which comes from Latin corvus. As a medieval byname it pointed at dark hair or a dark complexion rather than at the bird itself.
corvus → corb → corbin → Corbin
How it traveled
The word behind Corbin is Latin corvus, 'raven', which became corb in Old French and picked up the affectionate ending -in. Medieval England and France both used it as a byname for dark-haired men, and from there it hardened into an inherited surname carried by families on either side of the Channel.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Chozen
CHOH-zen
Identical to the word "chosen" and rhyming with "frozen." The z carries the same sound the s already had, so nobody has to be taught how to say it — only how to spell it.
- Cho — The simplest clipping, informal and family-level; not established as a standalone given name in English.
- Zen — Taken from the second syllable; informal, and also used on its own as a given name in the US.
- Chozy — An affectionate -y form of the kind English makes from almost any name; strictly casual.
- CJ — Initial-based, and only available when the middle name cooperates; used more by peers and coaches than by family.
Corbin
KOR-bin
Stress on the first syllable. The second is a light 'bin', not 'bine'. English speakers get it right on first sight, and the spelling gives no trouble in French or German either.
- Corb — The most direct clip, used informally among friends and family.
- Corby — Softer everyday form; also exists independently as an English surname and place name.
- Cor — A one-syllable household shortening, rarely used outside the family.
- Bin — Occasional playground shortening; worth knowing it exists before someone else finds it.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Chozen if you want…
- a name fewer children share#523 in 2025 — chozen will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 2,609 places on the charts in five years
- a name that feels very nowChozen is climbing the charts fast
Choose Corbin if you want…
- a name most people already know#512 in 2025, 586 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsCorbin is stepping back from its peak
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 66% for Chozen
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Chozen
Strengths
- The meaning is legible at first sight to any English speaker, with no explanation required.
- One pronunciation, and it is the one everybody already uses for the ordinary word.
- Short, two syllables, with a clear stress on the first — easy to call across a yard.
To consider
- It will be written "Chosen" by strangers for life. The z is the whole distinction, and it is the first thing a form, a teacher or an autocorrect will smooth away.
- A word-name makes a statement out loud, and people will hear it as one. Some will find it moving; others will comment. That comes with the territory for names like Justice, Blessing and Legend too.
- The name is very new, so there is no generation of adult Chozens yet to show how it wears on a résumé or a nameplate. That is unknown rather than bad — the first cohort is still small.
Corbin
Strengths
- Reads and says itself: one obvious pronunciation from the spelling, and one obvious spelling from the sound — apart from the Corbyn and Korbin variants.
- On US records for well over a century, so it carries none of the strangeness of a recent invention.
- Fits the established surname-as-first-name pattern alongside Colton, Camden and Weston, without being one of the crowded ones.
To consider
- Corbyn, Korbin and Corben all circulate, so expect an occasional 'how do you spell that' even though the sound is unmistakable.
- Corbett, Colby and Corbin get mixed up by ear, especially over the phone or in a noisy room.
- The name has been stepping back from its high point, which means most people carrying it now are teenagers and young adults rather than babies — a slightly dated ring for a few years, then not.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Chozen
66%chance Chozen feels dated by 2040
Chozen is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Corbin
40%chance Corbin feels dated by 2040
Corbin sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Chozen and Corbin in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Chozen and Corbin?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
Where Chozen and Corbin each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Chozen or Corbin — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Chozen or Corbin?
- Corbin, in 2025: Corbin ranked #512 with 586 babies; Chozen ranked #523 with 571 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Chozen or Corbin?
- Chozen. Over the last five years Chozen moved up 2,609 places; Corbin moved down 165 places.
- Which is the older name, Chozen or Corbin?
- Chozen entered the US charts in 2004; Corbin entered the US charts in 1891. On the American record, Corbin is the older name.
- How many people are named Chozen and Corbin?
- About 1,500 people named Chozen are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 40,000 people named Corbin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Chozens or Corbins in the classroom?
- Chozen will almost certainly be the only one in school. Corbin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Chozen, Corbin and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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