Meaning & origin
What it means
Chas is a diminutive of Charles. Charles goes back to Proto-Germanic *karilaz, meaning “free man.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Chas is a diminutive of Charles. Charles comes from French, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In English usage, Chas is a diminutive of Charles. In English usage, Chas is a short form of Charles.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Chas through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,223
- 3,213 boys · 10 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 99 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,383 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,383 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 99 in 1915. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,628 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Chas’s family of names
In English usage, Chas is a diminutive of Charles. In Greek usage, Chas as a surname is a transliteration of Χας. In English usage, Chas is a short form of Charles.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Chas
- Chas GuldemondAmerican snowboarderborn 1987
- Chas MortimerEnglish Grand Prix motorcycle racerborn 1949
- Chas NewbyBritish bassist1941–2023
- Chas HodgesBritish musician (1943-2018)
- Chas W. Freeman Jr.American retired diplomat and writerborn 1943
- Chas GerretsenDutch photographer (born 1943)
- Chas FaganAmerican artistborn 1966
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Chas, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Alois
“perfectly wise”
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“resembling an eagle”
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“one who is lame”
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“resembling a young goal”
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Aloysius
Aloysius is a masculine given name from Occitan.
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Regis
“a kingly or regal man”
>99% boys
Ennis
“from the market town” · “from the island; the only choice”
>99% boys
Nels
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys