Holding steady.
Popularity of Cheyene since 1976
Babies named Cheyene per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1980s | 28 |
| 1990s | 417 |
| 2000s | 261 |
| 2010s | 9 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Cheyene is a respelled variant of Cheyenne, a name that entered the U.S. baby name charts in the 1970s and saw its peak popularity in 1997. This phonetic spelling reflects a broader trend of simplifying names while retaining their sound. Although it has never reached the top 1,000, its usage has been stable over decades, with a peak year of 1997 and first recorded use in 1976. The name is almost exclusively given to girls, mirroring the trajectory of the parent spelling Cheyenne. State-level data does not highlight a regional concentration, suggesting the name is scattered across the country.
Cheyene is a respelled variant of Cheyenne, which is derived from the Dakota Sioux word Šahíyena, meaning 'little Cree' or 'people of a different speech'. The name was adopted as a given name in the late 20th century, influenced by the popular cowboy culture and the capital of Wyoming. Though the official spelling Cheyenne became common after the 1970s, Cheyene emerged as a simplified phonetic form, especially in the United States during the 1990s.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Chey, Chi, Yenna
Sibling names for Cheyene
Names that share Cheyene's style, for a brother or sister.
