BabyNamesMap

Baby names › Boys

Chaim

Means “life”*

CommonRare
Rank 2015: #714, 2016: #748, 2017: #705, 2018: #751, 2019: #699, 2020: #673, 2021: #694, 2022: #607, 2023: #626, 2024: #682, 2025: #6661 in 4,156 boys in the US, 2025#666 · steady · was #714 in 2015
CommonRare
Rank 2015: #1,074, 2016: #1,123, 2017: #888, 2018: #810, 2019: #1,506, 2020: #796, 2021: #771, 2022: #771, 2023: #827, 2024: #981, 2025: #9761 in 8,772 boys in E&W, 2025#976 · steady · was #1,074 in 2015

Boy’s name · Hebrew

Try with your surname

What Chaim means

Means “life”

From Hebrew חַיִּים (“life”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Chaim” (revision 93579237), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Chaim?

US 2025
#666
411 babies
▲ 16 vs 2024
England & Wales 2025
#976
31 babies
▲ 5 vs 2024
Scotland
–
Not listed

US: Steady: #714 in 2015, #666 now. England & Wales: Steady: #1074 in 2015, #976 now.

00.518801920196020002025
US, 1880–2025England & Wales, 1996–2025Babies per 1,000 boys born. Dot: biggest US share (2022)

Biggest US share so far: 2022, when 462 boys got the name (#607 that year). First in the US records in 1942.

How common

  • About 1 in 4,156 baby boys in the US in 2025
  • About 1 in 8,772 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NY (3.08 per 1,000 boys), NJ (2.94 per 1,000 boys), IL (0.12 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

AK
ME
WI
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
FewerMore · grey: under 5 babies, not listed

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Chaim is #666 in the US and #976 in England & Wales (2025).

Rank 2025BabiesHow commonRank 2015
US#6664111 in 4,156#714
England & Wales#976311 in 8,772#1074
Scotland––––

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Chaim were boys.

GirlsBoys
US 20250411
England & Wales 2025031
US all years since 1880612,072
England & Wales since 19960800

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

  • Shahm12 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

  • Haim
  • Hayim

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Chaim

Boys

  • Elias#13Form of Elijah, meaning “Yahweh is my god”
  • Moshe#435possibly “to give birth to”
  • Ezekiel#61“God strengthens”
  • Ezra#20Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #93 in 2015, #20 in 2025. Short and simple: 4 letters
  • Azariah#472“Yah Has Helped”
  • Zev#864“wolf”

For a sister

  • Naomi#47“my pleasantness”
  • Ezra#833Editor’s note Up from #1,199 in 2015 to #833 in 2025 in the US
  • Rivka#628Same root as Rebecca, meaning “enchantingly beautiful, captivating…
  • Zara#212“flower”
  • Eliza#115Editor’s note Up from #175 in 2015 to #115 in 2025 in the US
  • Delilah#51Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #115 in 2015, #51 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Chaim’s. Rank is US 2025.

Jump to a random name page, or roll from every name on the home page.