Chance
Feminine · “A falling”
Chance is given to boys far more often — 54,622 boys against 1,388 girls since 1880. See Chance as a boy name
Chance is an English word that came in from French and, oddly, shares a root with cadence: both go back to the Latin for falling — chance is how the dice fall. It is used for both sexes, and the girls' peak is 1996.
How old is the name Chance?
Chance first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Chance alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 1,400 people named Chance are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Chance most popular?
Chance peaked in 1996, reaching #2510 nationally. Today it ranks #5554, 3,044 places below that high. See the whole 1996 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From cadentia to Chance
Our story of Chance
Word names about luck are a small and revealing group. Fortune and Chance are the two English ones in real use, and both come from the same idea — that outcomes are not in the family's control — which is a strikingly modest thing to put on a birth certificate beside Faith, Hope and Destiny. Chance's American record is chiefly a boys' name from the 1970s onward, and the girls' use rises alongside it in the 1990s, peaking in 1996. The word's history is worth knowing: it began as the fall of dice in a French gaming term, moved to mean possibility, and only later acquired the sense of opportunity that most modern bearers hear in it. Three senses in one syllable, and the newest is the one the name carries.
Meaning
A falling; how the dice fall; fortune
From Old French cheance, from Vulgar Latin cadentia, a falling, from cadere, to fall — originally of dice. The reading is settled, and the same Latin word gives English cadence. The name also functions as a short form of Chauncey, an English surname from a Norman place name, which is a separate word.
How the name formed
- cadentia
- cheance
- chance
Related forms: Chance
Pronouncing Chance
CHANSS
One syllable, exactly as the English word. There is no alternative saying.
Nicknames for Chance
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1967
- Most girls named
- 199650 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2510reached in 1996
- Change vs 2024
- −21.4%22 in 2025, from 28
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Chance in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Chance in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Georgia.
Chances among us
people named Chance are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 73,058 born in 2025 was named Chance
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ave test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Chance's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ave climbed just as high around 1944, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ave's path sketches the road Chance is walking now.
Chance 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Chance beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Chance in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is an ordinary English word and never has to be spelled out.
- One syllable and six letters keep it very compact.
- Everyone can say it on sight.
- It is used for both sexes and reads as masculine in America.
- It is a word name, which invites comment throughout a life.
- The associations run to gambling as well as to opportunity.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Chance to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Chance? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Chance
Feminine · #5554 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Chances are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Chance are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Chance in 2025?
- Chance ranks #5554 among US girl names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Chance?
- About 1 in every 73,058 US girls born in 2025 was named Chance — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Chance with classmates?
- Chance will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Chance
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eda#5554 · Phebe#5554 · Felicia#5554 · Audie#5554 · Maryellen#5554 · Warren#5554 · Ruthann#5554 · Nettie#5554
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Chance? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Chance and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle