Boy nameCurrently #51 in the USFalling
Charles
CHARLZ//tʃɑːrlz//
1 syllablePeak year: 19477 lettersStarts with C
Meaning & origin
Free man
Charles comes from the Germanic 'karl', meaning free man, and has been carried by numerous kings across Europe, including the current British monarch. Formal and enduring, it offers a range of friendly nicknames from Charlie to Chuck.
Charles's popularity over time
| Year | Births named Charles |
|---|---|
| 1880 | 5,359 |
| 1881 | 4,653 |
| 1882 | 5,114 |
| 1883 | 4,844 |
| 1884 | 4,821 |
| 1885 | 4,623 |
| 1886 | 4,555 |
| 1887 | 4,064 |
| 1888 | 4,619 |
| 1889 | 4,227 |
| 1890 | 4,091 |
| 1891 | 3,669 |
| 1892 | 4,348 |
| 1893 | 3,746 |
| 1894 | 3,814 |
| 1895 | 3,660 |
| 1896 | 3,649 |
| 1897 | 3,361 |
| 1898 | 3,576 |
| 1899 | 3,170 |
| 1900 | 4,126 |
| 1901 | 3,072 |
| 1902 | 3,386 |
| 1903 | 3,232 |
| 1904 | 3,430 |
| 1905 | 3,630 |
| 1906 | 3,631 |
| 1907 | 3,904 |
| 1908 | 3,959 |
| 1909 | 4,058 |
| 1910 | 4,816 |
| 1911 | 5,765 |
| 1912 | 11,137 |
| 1913 | 13,239 |
| 1914 | 17,012 |
| 1915 | 22,061 |
| 1916 | 23,735 |
| 1917 | 24,267 |
| 1918 | 27,065 |
| 1919 | 25,321 |
| 1920 | 28,472 |
| 1921 | 29,418 |
| 1922 | 29,038 |
| 1923 | 29,125 |
| 1924 | 30,646 |
| 1925 | 29,796 |
| 1926 | 29,746 |
| 1927 | 32,244 |
| 1928 | 31,515 |
| 1929 | 30,191 |
| 1930 | 32,104 |
| 1931 | 30,145 |
| 1932 | 31,290 |
| 1933 | 29,199 |
| 1934 | 29,959 |
| 1935 | 30,131 |
| 1936 | 29,233 |
| 1937 | 30,697 |
| 1938 | 31,296 |
| 1939 | 30,935 |
| 1940 | 31,830 |
| 1941 | 32,894 |
| 1942 | 36,018 |
| 1943 | 36,806 |
| 1944 | 34,805 |
| 1945 | 32,592 |
| 1946 | 38,346 |
| 1947 | 40,917 |
| 1948 | 38,828 |
| 1949 | 40,190 |
| 1950 | 39,251 |
| 1951 | 39,559 |
| 1952 | 38,986 |
| 1953 | 38,558 |
| 1954 | 37,593 |
| 1955 | 35,509 |
| 1956 | 35,395 |
| 1957 | 34,435 |
| 1958 | 32,371 |
| 1959 | 30,946 |
| 1960 | 29,797 |
| 1961 | 29,316 |
| 1962 | 27,709 |
| 1963 | 26,899 |
| 1964 | 26,032 |
| 1965 | 23,632 |
| 1966 | 22,382 |
| 1967 | 21,412 |
| 1968 | 21,699 |
| 1969 | 21,799 |
| 1970 | 22,560 |
| 1971 | 19,997 |
| 1972 | 17,091 |
| 1973 | 15,868 |
| 1974 | 15,253 |
| 1975 | 14,707 |
| 1976 | 14,029 |
| 1977 | 14,831 |
| 1978 | 14,963 |
| 1979 | 14,937 |
| 1980 | 15,074 |
| 1981 | 14,530 |
| 1982 | 14,435 |
| 1983 | 13,334 |
| 1984 | 13,054 |
| 1985 | 13,005 |
| 1986 | 12,710 |
| 1987 | 12,258 |
| 1988 | 12,199 |
| 1989 | 12,305 |
| 1990 | 12,041 |
| 1991 | 11,370 |
| 1992 | 10,502 |
| 1993 | 9,884 |
| 1994 | 9,037 |
| 1995 | 8,500 |
| 1996 | 8,266 |
| 1997 | 7,671 |
| 1998 | 7,859 |
| 1999 | 7,536 |
| 2000 | 7,538 |
| 2001 | 7,300 |
| 2002 | 7,215 |
| 2003 | 7,703 |
| 2004 | 7,706 |
| 2005 | 7,948 |
| 2006 | 8,027 |
| 2007 | 7,464 |
| 2008 | 7,307 |
| 2009 | 7,284 |
| 2010 | 7,113 |
| 2011 | 6,994 |
| 2012 | 6,960 |
| 2013 | 7,040 |
| 2014 | 7,375 |
| 2015 | 7,213 |
| 2016 | 7,142 |
| 2017 | 7,201 |
| 2018 | 6,676 |
| 2019 | 6,412 |
| 2020 | 6,256 |
| 2021 | 6,008 |
| 2022 | 5,943 |
| 2023 | 5,424 |
| 2024 | 5,601 |
Charles through the decades
- Charles peaked in 1947, when 40,917 babies were named Charles in the US.
- Over the last 10 years of data (2015–2024), use of Charles has fallen 13% compared to the 10 years before that.
- Charles currently ranks #51 in the US and is cooling off.
Nicknames
CharlieChuck
Variants & spellings
CarlosKarl
Famous people named Charles
- Charles Darwin — naturalist