Chance

Where Chance comes from

The dictionaries list Chance as a given name — a male given name from English, an American pet form of Chauncey, in modern usage also associated with the word chance — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • English
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1883
    First appearance
    #892 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1967
    Chance Kelly born
    American actor
  3. 1996
    Chance Perdomo born
    British actor
  4. 1996
    Peak, #154
    2,243 babies named Chance — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2021
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #322.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from English, an American pet form of Chauncey, in modern usage also associated with the word chance.
Namesakes
  • Chance Perdomo · British actor, 1996–2024
  • Chance Kelly · American actor, born 1967
  • Chance Myers · American soccer player, born 1987
  • Chance Sisco · American baseball player, born 1995
  • Chance Warmack · American football player, born 1991

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.