Chesney is an English surname of Norman French origin that means "oak grove", from the Old French chesnai. It is best known in the United States through country singer Kenny Chesney, and as a girl's name it shares the breezy surname style of Presley and Kinsley. Chesney peaked at number 1555 among US girls in 2005 and has drifted between numbers 2193 and 2981 over the last decade, ranking 2785 in 2025.