Chancellor
Chancellor is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the cancelli of a basilica, which separated the judge and counsel from the audience. A chancellor's office is called a chancellery or chancery.
Meaning & Origin of Chancellor
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Chancellor is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the cancelli of a basilica, which separated the judge and counsel from the audience. A chancellor's office is called a chancellery or chancery.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Chancellor
Chancellor first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1916, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2001: 131 births, good for #1,089 nationwide. About 30% of every Chancellor on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Chancellor ranks #4,864 for baby boys with 20 births, falling sharply (-59%). All told, over 3K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Chancellor
Phonetically similar names — useful when Chancellor is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
- Chanceler
- Chancel
- Chancellery
- Channeler
- Chancellors
- Chancellory
- Canceler
- Canceller
- Chisler
- Chancier
- Counselor
- Counsellor
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Chancellor
What does the name Chancellor mean?
How popular is Chancellor in 2026?
When was Chancellor most popular?
In which U.S. states is Chancellor most popular?
Is Chancellor a unisex name?
What names go well with Chancellor?
About the name Chancellor
Chancellor is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1916 and has accumulated 3K births in the dataset. Chancellor's peak popularity came in 2001 when it ranked #1,089. Use the chart and map above to compare Chancellor's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2001 →
- Names of the 2000s →
- Names starting with "C" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.