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Home › Baby Names Directory › Chaska

Chaska

♂ Boy

Pronounced CHAHS-kah

Meaning: firstborn son

In 30 seconds: Dakota birth-order name for the firstborn son, anglicized from čhaské — part of a systematic Siouan naming tradition that tied a child's identity to his place in the family.
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Origin Sioux, Native American
Meaningfirstborn son
U.S. rank (2014)#8916 ↗ Rising
2014 U.S. births8 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year2002
Total births (all-time)≈ 67

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 200219762014

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Chaska is the anglicization of Dakota and Lakota čhaské, the birth-order name given to the firstborn son in a traditional Siouan naming system. The complete Dakota sequence — Caske (1st son), Hépan (2nd), Hépi (3rd), Čhatán (4th), and Háke (5th) — is documented in the Minnesota Historical Society's Beginning Dakota curriculum. Because the name was so widely shared, multiple Chaska men appeared in the same historical events. During the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, a man named Wičháhpi Waštédanpi (Good Little Stars), known as Chaska, had his death sentence commuted by Lincoln — but was executed anyway at Mankato on December 26, 1862, in what historians attribute to a case of mistaken identity among three men of the same birth-order name.

Did you know? Chaska, Minnesota takes its name directly from this Dakota word — and during the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War, at least three different Chaska men were held at Mankato, leading to a tragic case of mistaken identity in President Lincoln's clemency records.
Chaska (Dakota) — Wikipedia — Confirms čhaské = firstborn son; documents the 1862 Mankato mistaken-identity caseBeginning Dakota, Lesson 20: Kinship — Minnesota Historical Society — Documents the complete birth-order naming sequence for sons and daughters

Variations

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Nicknames

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If you like Chaska…

Chaske— Alternate spelling of the same Dakota word čhaské — firstborn son, from the same birth-order naming system
Enapay— Lakota masculine name meaning appears bravely, from the same Siouan Plains tradition
Chumani— Lakota girl's name meaning dewdrops, from the same cultural tradition
Mahpiya— Lakota name meaning cloud or sky, from the same Siouan tradition and era

Frequently Asked

What does Chaska mean?

Chaska is the Dakota and Lakota birth-order name for the firstborn son, anglicized from čhaské. It was part of a systematic naming tradition where sons were named by birth position: Chaska (1st), Hépan (2nd), Hépi (3rd), and so on.

How do you pronounce Chaska?

CHAH-skay — the original čhaské has a stressed final syllable -é; the anglicized Chaska simplifies this to -ah. Both are used.

Is Chaska the same as Chaske?

Yes — Chaska and Chaske are two anglicized spellings of the same Dakota word čhaské. Chaske preserves the original final vowel more faithfully; Chaska is the most common modern spelling.

Is Chaska a boy or girl name?

Chaska is a masculine birth-order name given to the firstborn son in the Dakota and Lakota tradition.

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