Chau
Chau is a name with a single cultural origin: Vietnamese.
- Vietnamese
Meaning & Origin of Chau
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Chau is a name with a single cultural origin: Vietnamese.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Vietnamese
The Story of Chau
As a girl name
The earliest SSA record of Chau as a girl name dates back to 1975, when 5 babies received it. 1980 was its biggest year on record, with 22 newborns named Chau — #3,610 in the national rankings. About 41% of every Chau on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. Chau last appeared in the published SSA data in 2022, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 389 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
The earliest SSA record of Chau as a boy name dates back to 1976, when 5 babies received it. 1982 was its biggest year on record, with 16 newborns named Chau — #2,830 in the national rankings. About 70% of every Chau on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. Chau last appeared in the published SSA data in 1992, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 107 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Chau
Phonetically similar names — useful when Chau is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Chau
What does the name Chau mean?
What is the origin of the name Chau?
How popular is Chau in 2026?
When was Chau most popular?
In which U.S. states is Chau most popular?
Is Chau a unisex name?
What names go well with Chau?
About the name Chau
Chau is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1975 and has accumulated 389 births in the dataset. Chau's peak popularity came in 1980 when it ranked #3,610. Use the chart and map above to compare Chau's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1980 →
- Names of the 1980s →
- Names starting with "C" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
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.