Chad is a male given name of American origin, but it also has roots in other cultures. It means "lake" or "sea," and can be traced back to the Chetish tribe of Native Americans who inhabited what is now Kentucky. The name was popularized by the character Chad Mitchell in the TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard," which aired from 1979 to 1985. Today, Chad remains a popular choice for parents seeking a distinctive yet approachable name for their sons.
Between 1966 and 2004, the name Chad was given to a total of 1,039 baby boys born in the United States. The popularity of this name varied greatly from year to year.
The name first appeared on the Social Security Administration's list of popular baby names in 1966 with only eight births that year. However, its popularity grew rapidly in the following years, reaching a peak of 67 births in 1973 and remaining relatively stable until the mid-1980s.
After this period, the number of babies named Chad began to decline significantly. By 1989, only eleven boys were given this name, and this trend continued throughout the 1990s with fewer than ten births recorded each year between 1990 and 1996.
Despite this decrease in popularity, there was a brief resurgence in the early 2000s, with six babies named Chad born in the United States in 2004. Overall, while Chad may not have been one of the most popular names throughout these years, it nevertheless has been given to a significant number of baby boys in the United States since the late 1960s.