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Home › Baby Names Directory › Cheney

Cheney

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Cheney

Pronounced CHAY-nee /ˈtʃeɪ.ni/Medium

Meaning: Cheney is an English surname turned given name, from the Old French chesnai or chesney, meaning a place among oak trees. As a first name it reads as a crisp, unisex surname pick, here used for a girl.Low

In 30 seconds: Cheney is an English surname from Old French for an oak grove. It appeared for United States girls in the mid-1970s and stayed rare (said CHAY-nee).
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Origin LowEnglish, French
MeaningCheney is an English surname turned given name, from the Old French chesnai or chesney, meaning a place among oak trees. As a first name it reads as a crisp, unisex surname pick, here used for a girl.
U.S. rank (2011)#17335 ↘ Falling
2011 U.S. births5 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year2001
Total births (all-time)≈ 209

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 200119762011

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

Cheney is an English surname, from the Old French chesnai, 'a place among oak trees,' carried into first-name use in the American surname-name fashion. As a girl's name it is rare and reads modern and unisex. Cheney first appears in United States birth records around 1976 and touched a small high around 2001.

It was never common, given to only a couple dozen girls a year even at its peak. A Cheney from that high would be in her twenties now; the name reads as a crisp surname pick rather than a revival.

Did you know? Cheney traces to the Old French for an oak grove, so the brisk surname carries a quiet woodland meaning under its modern sound.
Overall data confidence 45%
References - Cheney — English surname; Old French chesnai 'oak grove'; surname-name usage

Variations

CheyneyChaneyCheynee

Nicknames

CheyNee

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Cheney…

Chaney— a close spelling cousin of the surname
Delaney— a like surname-style girls' name
Kinsey— another crisp two-beat surname pick
Everly— shares the modern surname-name feel

Explore names like Cheney

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Cheney mean?

It is an English surname from the Old French for a place among oak trees.

How do you pronounce Cheney?

It's said CHAY-nee /ˈtʃeɪ.ni/, two syllables with the stress at the front.

Is Cheney a boy or girl name?

Cheney is used here as a girl's name, though it works as a unisex surname name.

How popular is Cheney?

It has always been rare, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its peak around the turn of the two-thousands.

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