Chet

Where Chet comes from

The dictionaries list Chet as a given name — a diminutive of the male given name Chester — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1909
    First appearance
    #1,277 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1924
    Chet Atkins born
    American guitarist
  3. 1963
    Peak, #612
    164 babies named Chet — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1985
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,057.
  5. 2002
    Chet Holmgren born
    American basketball player
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given name Chester.
Namesakes
  • Chet Atkins · American guitarist, 1924–2001
  • Chet Holmgren · American basketball player, born 2002
  • Chet Culver · American football player and politician, born 1966
  • Chet Huntley · American broadcaster, 1911–1974
  • Chet Walker · American basketball player, 1940–2024

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.