Cheyenne
Cheyenne was the 920th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 285 babies. Its best year was 1996, when it ranked 68th with 4,866 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 574 places. More babies were named Cheyenne in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning the Cheyenne people (via Dakota) · Dakota, French
Say it shy-AN /ʃaɪˈæn/
- Rank in 2025
- #920 girls, down 340 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 285girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19964,866 babies
- Total since 1880
- 73,428babies recorded
What does the name Cheyenne mean?
Cheyenne is the name of a Native American people of the Great Plains, borrowed through French from Dakota šahíyena. Wiktionary explains the Dakota word as built on šaia, to speak incoherently or unintelligibly, from ša, red, and ya, to speak, so it was the Dakota name for people who spoke a different language. Cheyenne is also the capital of Wyoming. As a girls' name it has been used in the US since 1946.
šahíyena (Dakota, “Cheyenne people”)šaia (Dakota, “to speak incoherently”)
How sure is this? Probable. Wiktionary only; the exoname's literal sense is from Wiktionary's analysis.
Related names: Shyanne, Cheyanne, Shayenne.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Cheyenne' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Cheyenne popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 2,696 since 1949.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #920 | 285 |
| 2020 | #580 | 509 |
| 2010 | #229 | 1,374 |
| 2000 | #99 | 3,367 |
| 1990 | #331 | 833 |
| 1980 | #871 | 176 |
| 1970 | #2,526 | 29 |
| 1960 | #5,254 | 7 |
| 1950 | #3,254 | 11 |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Cheyenne, counting every spelling?
Cheyenne is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #807 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #920 for Cheyenne on its own. Together these spellings went to 337 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne | 285 | #920 | 1,832 |
| Cheyanne | 46 | #3,350 | 317 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Cheyenne?
285 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Cheyenne (0.08 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Cheyenne born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 29 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Cheyenne.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Cheyenne?
About 69,700 people born in the US named Cheyenne are alive today, with a median age of 26; half are between 19 and 30. That makes Cheyenne mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Cheyenne by state
How common Cheyenne was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Oklahoma (2.1×), Arizona (2.1×), Arkansas (1.9×), North Carolina (1.9×), Kansas (1.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Massachusetts, New York, Nevada.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Cheyenne: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Cheyenne, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Cheyenne · Sibling names for Cheyenne
Questions about the name Cheyenne
What does Cheyenne mean?
Cheyenne means “the Cheyenne people (via Dakota)” (Dakota, French origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Cheyenne?
Cheyenne was the 920th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 285 babies. Its best year was 1996, when it ranked 68th with 4,866 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 574 places. More babies were named Cheyenne in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Cheyenne a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Cheyenne in the US.
Where is Cheyenne most popular?
In 2021–2025, Cheyenne was most common in Idaho (0.51 per 1,000 girls), followed by Oklahoma and Arizona.