Fun Facts About the Name Cherokee
- More than 2 thousand babies named Cherokee: U.S. records list 2,909 babies given the name Cherokee from 1880 through 2025. Even 337 boys received the name Cherokee - about 1 boy for every 8 girls.
What Does the Name Cherokee Mean?
Cherokee is an English given name taken from the name of the Cherokee people, a Native American nation of the southeastern United States. The meaning of the word is uncertain. It is not a Cherokee word at all: it entered English from a Muskogean language, most often traced to Choctaw, and it is an exonym, a name applied by outsiders rather than by the people themselves.
Two explanations are commonly offered for the Choctaw source. One connects it to a word for "cave country" or "cave dwellers," perhaps describing a people living in mountainous or cave-rich terrain. The other treats it as a term for people whose speech was unintelligible, something like "people of a different speech" or "those who speak another language." Both are interpretations of a borrowed word rather than a settled etymology, and the exact form and sense of the original Muskogean term remain disputed.
The Cherokee's own names for themselves are separate from the English word. They call themselves Aniyvwiya (also written Ani-Yunwiya), usually translated "real people" or "principal people," and Kituwah (Keetoowah), from an ancient town, is also used. Because Cherokee is an exonym, its uncertain etymology should not be confused with these self-designations.
Cherokee Name History & Origins
"Cherokee" came into English through the colonial encounter with the Cherokee in the southeastern woodlands, in what is now Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. European explorers and settlers recorded the name in a range of spellings, and the borrowed form was eventually fixed in English as Cherokee.
The Cherokee are an Iroquoian-speaking people, related linguistically to the Iroquois nations of the Northeast, even though the name by which they are known in English comes from a Muskogean language spoken by neighboring peoples to the south and west. This split, an Iroquoian people known by a Muskogean-derived exonym, is a frequent source of confusion about the word's origin. In 1821 Sequoyah's syllabary gave the Cherokee language its own written form, but that writing system records Cherokee words, not the English name Cherokee.
As a personal name, Cherokee belongs to a group of English given names drawn from Native American tribal names, alongside Dakota, Cheyenne, and Navajo. It is used mainly in the United States and more often for girls, though it also appears as a boy's name. The given name follows the tribal name and does not descend from an older personal-name tradition of its own.
How Popular is the Name Cherokee?
Cherokee has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1998. Its best rank was #1,261 in 1995.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13,556 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #8,023 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2023 | #6,990 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 2022 | #8,129 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2021 | #4,862 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2020 | #4,910 | 26 | 0.0016% |
| 2019 | #6,026 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2018 | #4,255 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2017 | #4,502 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 2016 | #3,532 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 2015 | #4,616 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2014 | #4,681 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2013 | #6,524 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2012 | #4,742 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2011 | #3,854 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2010 | #5,273 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2009 | #5,574 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2008 | #3,951 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 2007 | #3,800 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 2006 | #3,231 | 51 | 0.0027% |
| 2005 | #2,974 | 54 | 0.0029% |
| 2004 | #2,179 | 82 | 0.0045% |
| 2003 | #2,130 | 82 | 0.0045% |
| 2002 | #1,969 | 89 | 0.0050% |
| 2001 | #1,905 | 91 | 0.0051% |
| 2000 | #1,534 | 118 | 0.0065% |
| 1999 | #1,433 | 122 | 0.0069% |
| 1998 | #1,265 | 143 | 0.0081% |
| 1997 | #1,363 | 126 | 0.0072% |
| 1996 | #1,279 | 135 | 0.0077% |
| 1995 | #1,261 | 134 | 0.0076% |
| 1994 | #1,348 | 124 | 0.0069% |
| 1993 | #1,643 | 92 | 0.0051% |
| 1992 | #1,691 | 89 | 0.0048% |
| 1991 | #2,137 | 62 | 0.0033% |
| 1990 | #2,864 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 1989 | #2,669 | 42 | 0.0023% |
| 1988 | #3,817 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1987 | #5,988 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1986 | #2,790 | 34 | 0.0020% |
| 1985 | #4,004 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1984 | #4,775 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1983 | #4,925 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1982 | #6,440 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #5,014 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1980 | #5,021 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1979 | #5,144 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1978 | #3,653 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1977 | #3,393 | 22 | 0.0014% |
| 1976 | #3,111 | 23 | 0.0016% |
| 1975 | #3,656 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1974 | #4,264 | 14 | 0.0010% |
| 1973 | #4,402 | 13 | 0.0009% |
| 1972 | #3,571 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 1971 | #6,720 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1969 | #4,765 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1964 | #6,913 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #5,983 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #6,389 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1957 | #4,255 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1956 | #4,518 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1955 | #4,812 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #4,562 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1949 | #5,348 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #5,356 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1942 | #4,728 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1922 | #5,140 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1920 | #5,106 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | #12,625 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #12,404 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #9,870 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #11,240 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #10,044 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #12,360 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2005 | #9,288 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #10,178 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #6,324 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #5,450 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2001 | #4,510 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2000 | #4,082 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1999 | #4,006 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1998 | #3,725 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1997 | #2,834 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1996 | #3,123 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1995 | #2,059 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 1994 | #2,186 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 1993 | #3,522 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1992 | #5,293 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #6,038 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #5,584 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #6,469 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #5,163 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #5,028 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #5,600 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Cherokee Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Cherokee's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Cherokee's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.