How popular is the baby name Chaya in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Chaya.

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Popularity of the baby name Chaya


Posts that mention the name Chaya

How did Chaya Mushka Schneerson influence baby names in the late 1980s?

Chaya Mushka Schneerson (in the 1950s)

The branch of Hasidic Judaism called “Chabad Lubavitch” was founded in the Russian Empire (in the town of Lyubavichi) in the 1770s. After World War II broke out, the center of the movement was moved to the United States — to New York City specifically.

The last official leader of the movement was popular rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, whose wife was the equally beloved Chaya Moussia “Mushka” Schneerson.

When Chaya Mushka passed away in 1988, hundreds of Hasidic parents — most located in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn — named their daughters “Chaya Mushka” (or some variation thereof).

According to he U.S. baby name data, the baby name Chaya, which means “life” in Hebrew, saw a jump in usage in 1988:

  • 1990: 214 baby girls named Chaya [ranked 896th]
  • 1989: 232 baby girls named Chaya [ranked 819th]
  • 1988: 213 baby girls named Chaya [ranked 845th]
  • 1987: 144 baby girls named Chaya
  • 1986: 142 baby girls named Chaya

The same year, the rare name Mushka made its very first appearance in the data:

  • 1990: 17 baby girls named Mushka
  • 1989: 20 baby girls named Mushka
  • 1988: 18 baby girls named Mushka [debut]
  • 1987: unlisted
  • 1986: unlisted

Here are some extra details about the usage of Chaya and Mushka from a 2011 article in the Jewish publication Forward:

  • In New York City, “the popularity of the name “Chaya” surged shortly after the rebbetzin died, from about 100 girls annually during the mid-1980s to 150 girls annually during the early 1990s. It peaked in 2005 and 2006, with almost 200 girls named “Chaya” in each year.”
  • One Chaya Mushka (b. 1988) mentioned that, at her Beth Rivkah school in Brooklyn, about 75 of the 120 girls in her grade were called Chaya Mushka.
  • A Crown Heights matchmaker said that, currently, “almost one-third of the 200 women on her list of eligible brides are Chaya Mushkas.”

The Crown Heights matchmaker also mentioned that the name Menachem Mendel became extremely popular for boys after Chaya Mushka’s husband Menachem Mendel Schneerson passed away a few years later, in 1994. “In my son’s class, I would say about 90% [of the boys] are called Mendy.”

Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Indeed, the U.S. data reveals that Menachem both entered the top 1,000 for the first time and saw peak (relative) usage in 1994:

  • 1996: 138 baby boys named Menachem [ranked 944th]
  • 1995: 142 baby boys named Menachem [ranked 933rd]
  • 1994: 164 baby boys named Menachem [ranked 834th]
  • 1993: 83 baby boys named Menachem
  • 1992: 105 baby boys named Menachem

Interestingly, two decades after this peak, in 2014, the name Menachemmendel popped up in the data for the first and (so far) only time.

Finally, here’s a cool video about the many girls named Chaya Mushka:

Sources:

[Latest Update: Aug. 2021]

Where did the baby name Haya come from in 1960?

Actress Haya Harareet as Esther in the movie "Ben-Hur" (1959).
Haya Harareet in “Ben-Hur

The novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880) by Lewis “Lew” Wallace told the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a young Jewish prince who sought revenge upon the Romans after a period of enslavement. The book was extremely successful, remaining on the best-seller list for decades.

The best-known film adaptation of the book was Ben Hur (1959), which starred Charlton Heston as Judah and Israeli actress Haya Harareet as his love interest, Esther. The movie cost more money and featured more crew and extras than any other movie that had been made up to that point. In April of 1960, it won a record 11 Oscars.

Also in 1960, the baby name Haya appeared in the U.S. baby name data for the very first time:

  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: 5 baby girls named Haya [debut]
  • 1959: unlisted
  • 1958: unlisted

The name Haya is a form of Chaya, which is a feminine form of Chayyim, which means “life.”

A much more recent adaptation of the story was the 2-episode miniseries Ben Hur, which aired on American TV during the 2010 Easter season. It didn’t have the cultural impact of the 1959 film, but it did nudge the usage of baby name Ben Hur upward — just enough for the name to appear for the first and (so far) only time in the data:

  • 2012: unlisted
  • 2011: unlisted
  • 2010: 8 baby boys named Benhur [debut]
  • 2009: unlisted
  • 2008: unlisted

The surname Ben-Hur means “son of white linen.” Lew Wallace said that it was chosen for the lead character “because it [was] Biblical, and easily spelled, printed, and pronounced.”

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Ben-Hur (1959)