FastNamesCharles
Germanic and French name meaning "Derived from Ancient Germanic Karl, meaning 'free man' (as opposed to a serf or thrall), 'manly warrior', or 'husband'.". Ranked 48th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Charles
Derived from Ancient Germanic Karl, meaning 'free man' (as opposed to a serf or thrall), 'manly warrior', or 'husband'.
Linguistically, Charles is classified under Germanic and French naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "CHARLZ".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Charles has been given to a total of 2,434,659 boys. It has also been given to 12,476 girls.
Peak year: Charles reached its highest relative share among boys in 1880, when 5,348 babies received the name (48,403 per million births).
All-time best rank: 4th place, first achieved in 1880.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 48th with 5,898 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 50th (up 2 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Charles in the 1940s than in any other decade (361,772 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 46,656 |
| 1890s | 36,848 |
| 1900s | 36,184 |
| 1910s | 173,535 |
| 1920s | 298,031 |
| 1930s | 303,218 |
| 1940s | 361,772 |
| 1950s | 361,177 |
| 1960s | 249,398 |
| 1970s | 163,021 |
| 1980s | 131,902 |
| 1990s | 92,434 |
| 2000s | 75,334 |
| 2010s | 70,024 |
| 2020s | 35,125 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Charles is most common in the US
Accounting for when Charles was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Maryland: 1.6 times the national rate (54,683 births since 1910).
- West Virginia: 1.6 times the national rate (46,002 births since 1910).
- Delaware: 1.6 times the national rate (7,136 births since 1910).
- Kentucky: 1.5 times the national rate (69,729 births since 1910).
- Tennessee: 1.5 times the national rate (75,555 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Charles?
About 1,211,000 living American boys and men share the name Charles. Additionally, an estimated 6,300 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Charles is 60 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Charles
Charles derives through Old French from the Continental Germanic name Karl, rooted in the common noun karl, denoting a 'free man' of independent legal standing, or an adult 'man of valor'. The name was elevated to world-historical preeminence by Charlemagne (Charles the Great, 742–814 AD), King of the Franks and first Holy Roman Emperor, whose empire united Western Europe and sparked the Carolingian Renaissance.
Due to Charlemagne's monumental legacy, Karl was borrowed into Slavic and Hungarian languages as the common word for 'king' (korol, król, király). The name crossed into Britain with the Stuart dynasty in the seventeenth century, borne by Kings Charles I and Charles II, and was borne by revolutionary thinkers including Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens.
In United States demographic history, Charles is one of the foundational bedrock boy names, ranking in the national top ten consecutively from 1880 through 1954—over seven decades of uninterrupted elite standing, with single-year peak births exceeding 40,000 boys. It remains a venerable evergreen classic admired for its dignified gravitas and timeless literary heritage.
Notable people named Charles
- Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist, geologist, and biologist known for evolution theory
- Charles Dickens (1812–1870), Celebrated English Victorian novelist
- Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974), American aviator who made first solo nonstop transatlantic flight
- Charles Barkley (1963–), American former NBA MVP and television analyst
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 52.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 62.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.