Chasen is likely a surname-style variant of Chasen or Chace, connected to hunting or pursuit in Old French and English.
Chasen occupies an interesting liminal space in naming history, sitting at the crossroads of a Hebrew religious title, an English occupational surname, and a modern given name. The most direct etymology traces to the Hebrew "chazan" (חַזָּן), meaning cantor — the trained vocalist in a Jewish congregation who leads liturgical singing. The chazan's role in Jewish worship is ancient and honored; cantors were community figures whose voices shaped the emotional landscape of prayer.
Over generations, "Chazan" became a surname among Jewish families in Eastern Europe, and in English-speaking countries it evolved into Hazan, Chasan, and Chasen. Separately, Chasen resembles and may in some cases derive from the English surname Chase, itself from the Old French "chacier" (to hunt), which gives the name an entirely different flavor — active, athletic, slightly aristocratic in the English tradition of outdoors pursuits. The convergence of these two roots in the same sound has produced a name that works in both Jewish and non-Jewish naming contexts, albeit for different historical reasons.
As a given name, Chasen is a product of the late 20th-century American trend of converting surnames into first names, a practice that gives children names that feel distinctive yet grounded. It shares sonic territory with Chase (extremely popular) and Jason, benefiting from the familiarity of both while remaining its own entity. It has attracted particular use among American Jewish families seeking a name that nods to heritage without being overtly biblical. The result is a name that feels simultaneously traditional and contemporary — which is, perhaps, the goal every naming generation aims for.