Chen
Chen is a unisex given name: about 46% of people named Chen are men and 54% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
This name is used for both men and women without a strong lean either way.
- Verdict
- Unisex
- Male / female split
- 46% male / 54% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- China, Israel, Korea
- US births since 1880
- 164 male / 57 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Chen
To address Chen when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Chen," in English, "Guten Tag Chen," in German. About 46% of people named Chen are men and 54% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Chen,
German
Guten Tag Chen,
French
Bonjour Chen,
Spanish
Estimado/a Chen:
Chinese
Chen您好：
Japanese
Chen様
English
Hi Chen,
German
Hi Chen,
French
Salut Chen,
Spanish
Hola Chen,
Chinese
Chen你好：
Japanese
Chenさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | common | unisex name | 50% |
| Israel | uncommon | woman's name | 25% |
| Korea | rare | unisex name | 50% |
| United States | rare | man's name | 74% |
United States birth data
164 male · 57 female · 221 births recorded
Since 1980: 73% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chen a male or female name?
Chen is a unisex given name: about 46% of people named Chen are men and 54% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
How do I address Chen in an email?
To address Chen when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Chen," in English, "Guten Tag Chen," in German. About 46% of people named Chen are men and 54% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Is Chen a unisex name?
Chen is a unisex name: 46% of people named Chen are men. The split stays close across most of the countries in the data.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Chen a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/chen (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_chen,
title = {Is Chen a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/chen},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}