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Chester

Gender
Boy
Say it
CHES-ter
Origin
English
UK rank, 2025
#145 for boys
US rank, 2025
#1,585 for boys

Chester is a boys' name of English origin, meaning “fort, camp”. In 2025 it ranked 145th for boys in the UK (395 babies) and 1,585th for boys in the US (107 babies).

What does Chester mean?

English: English place name, from Old English ceaster, from Latin castra

“fort, camp”

The city of Chester began as Deva, a Roman legionary fortress on the River Dee.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Chester a girl's or a boy's name?

Chester is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 395 boys in the UK and 107 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Chester in the UK?

Rank in 2025
145th among boys
Babies in 2025
395 about 1 in 760 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 26% in five years
Same name in a class
1.8% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 395 boys in the UK were named Chester, making it the 145th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 92nd. Its busiest year was 2020, with 719 boys.

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 5 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Chester than any year since 2017.

Half of all the boys named Chester in the UK since 1996 were born between 2017 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.

Among boys in 2025, it was 128th in England and Wales and 441st in Scotland.

1996Busiest: 719 in 20202025
Chester in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025395#145
2024476#128
2023606#99
2022630#98
2021705#93
2020719#92
2019694#102
2018570#123
2017281#217
2016249#247
2015249#252
2014117#397
201363#617
201275#545
201160#635
201065#579
200967#561
200867#559
200743#731
200631#880
200527#917
200417#1,183
200324#900
200219#988
200121#871
200026#743
199929#667
199828#688
199732#599
199624#697

How popular is Chester in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,585th among boys
Babies in 2025
107 about 1 in 16,000 boys
Five-year trend
Steady up 8% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 107 boys in the US were named Chester, making it the 1,585th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,621st. Its busiest year was 1920, with 3,698 boys.

It has been given to more boys each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had more boys named Chester than any year since 2000.

Half of all the boys named Chester in the US since 1880 were born between 1919 and 1949, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 3,698 in 19202025
Chester in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025107#1,585
2024102#1,650
202396#1,727
202294#1,760
202168#2,108
202099#1,621
201991#1,723
201893#1,687
201793#1,695
201676#1,921
201598#1,625
201484#1,781
201378#1,826
201271#1,982
201182#1,770
201074#1,912
200973#1,941
200892#1,665
200781#1,795
200671#1,892
200595#1,505
200490#1,489
200395#1,398
200297#1,354
200181#1,498
2000109#1,226
1999100#1,239
1998117#1,093
1997122#1,043
1996124#1,004
1995145#914
1994149#883
1993154#851
1992203#722
1991209#696
1990226#671
1989228#661
1988227#631
1987251#572
1986220#600
1985264#536
1984285#503
1983292#494
1982332#464
1981349#441
1980348#446
1979355#423
1978377#398
1977392#396
1976370#404
1975355#406
1974428#367
1973422#373
1972411#388
1971507#357
1970515#359
1969544#332
1968500#345
1967534#325
1966536#323
1965629#299
1964710#295
1963732#286
1962775#277
1961888#265
1960936#260
19591,001#253
19581,051#240
19571,182#219
19561,254#207
19551,256#203
19541,421#185
19531,380#183
19521,456#180
19511,401#178
19501,378#169
19491,440#163
19481,556#158
19471,714#154
19461,620#149
19451,445#144
19441,521#137
19431,631#137
19421,559#137
19411,448#136
19401,353#137
19391,296#133
19381,236#136
19371,272#129
19361,278#127
19351,432#121
19341,385#123
19331,399#119
19321,607#112
19311,717#106
19301,791#103
19291,969#96
19282,243#88
19272,407#85
19262,534#79
19252,719#73
19243,033#67
19233,150#63
19223,133#64
19213,549#56
19203,698#55
19193,432#53
19183,692#54
19173,338#56
19163,212#54
19153,043#54
19142,289#56
19131,765#56
19121,460#55
1911708#58
1910561#61
1909475#66
1908461#66
1907424#67
1906420#61
1905388#64
1904355#69
1903327#68
1902321#74
1901253#75
1900364#72
1899288#66
1898321#66
1897290#67
1896329#63
1895377#57
1894325#63
1893291#66
1892285#72
1891252#68
1890263#69
1889274#69
1888288#72
1887207#78
1886287#65
1885273#67
1884338#58
1883290#59
1882300#60
1881274#59
1880168#85

Nicknames for Chester

Names like Chester

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Stanley, Wilfred, Arthur, Otis, Alfred, Albert, Frederick, Ralph, Rupert, Ollie, Harris, Louie

More English names

Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Harper, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie

Every English name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Chester: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/chester, updated 20 October 2026.