Gender
Origin
- Germanic
- Manly, Farmer
- English
- French
- Manly
Syllables
2
Themes
- Exotic
- Surname
Alternate Spellings and Variants of Charles
Pronunciation
ch(ar)-les
Famous People
Prince Charles, Author Charles Dickens, "Peanuts" creator Charles Schultz, Basketball player Charles Barkley, Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, Scientist Charles Darwin
Celebrity Babies
Son of Julia Louis Dreyfuss and Brad Hall, Son of Jodie Foster, Son of Russell Crowe, Son of Queen Elizabeth II, Son of Tommy La Sorda, Son of Chris O'Donnell, Son of Cynthia Nixon
More about the name
Charles is a male given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form Charles of the Proto-Germanic name ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (in runic alphabet) or *karilaz (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "free man". The Old English descendant of this word was Ċearl or Ċeorl, as the name of King Cearl of Mercia, that disappeared after the Norman conquest of England.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Popularity in the USA
- Boys: peak in 1947 (rank #9, 40,772 births); most recent 2025 (rank #48, 5,898 births)
- Girls: peak in 1927 (rank #395, 304 births); most recent 2025 (rank #9457, 10 births)
| Year | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5,898 | 10 |
| 2024 | 5,593 | 8 |
| 2023 | 5,415 | 9 |
| 2022 | 5,934 | 9 |
| 2021 | 6,003 | 5 |
| 2020 | 6,243 | 13 |
| 2019 | 6,403 | 9 |
| 2018 | 6,663 | 13 |
| 2017 | 7,189 | 12 |
| 2016 | 7,125 | 17 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in the USA (2025)
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), national baby names data (public domain). This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA. Data years: 1880 to 2025. Original data
Popularity in England and Wales
- Boys: peak in 1998 (rank #41, 1,868 births); most recent 2025 (rank #119, 437 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 437 |
| 2024 | 452 |
| 2023 | 442 |
| 2022 | 533 |
| 2021 | 639 |
| 2020 | 646 |
| 2019 | 707 |
| 2018 | 758 |
| 2017 | 877 |
| 2016 | 910 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in England and Wales (2025)
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Baby names in England and Wales. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1996 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in France
- Boys: peak in 1920 (rank #18, 5,266 births); most recent 2023 (rank #89, 762 births)
- Girls: peak in 1949 (rank #719, 9 births); most recent 2002 (rank #3584, 4 births)
| Year | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 762 | – |
| 2022 | 792 | – |
| 2021 | 757 | – |
| 2020 | 687 | – |
| 2019 | 742 | – |
| 2018 | 701 | – |
| 2017 | 707 | – |
| 2016 | 654 | – |
| 2015 | 731 | – |
| 2014 | 696 | – |
Top girl names · Top boy names in France (2023)
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (last updated 8 July 2024), used under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0. Changes: names are shown in title case, and spellings that differ only by accents are counted together. Data years: 1900 to 2023. Original data · Licence
Popularity in Ireland
- Boys: peak in 1965 (rank #46, 145 births); most recent 2025 (rank #188, 25 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 25 |
| 2024 | 14 |
| 2023 | 17 |
| 2022 | 36 |
| 2021 | 32 |
| 2020 | 26 |
| 2019 | 32 |
| 2018 | 37 |
| 2017 | 38 |
| 2016 | 49 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in Ireland (2025)
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland, Irish Babies' Names (tables VSA50 and VSA60), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes: spellings that differ only by accents (for example Rian and Rían) are counted together. Data years: 1964 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in Scotland
- Boys: peak in 1979 (rank #55, 135 births); most recent 2025 (rank #298, 12 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 |
| 2024 | 28 |
| 2023 | 25 |
| 2022 | 31 |
| 2021 | 26 |
| 2020 | 27 |
| 2019 | 36 |
| 2018 | 44 |
| 2017 | 35 |
| 2016 | 43 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in Scotland (2025)
Source: National Records of Scotland (NRS), Babies' First Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1974 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in Northern Ireland
- Boys: peak in 2000 (rank #75, 38 births); most recent 2025 (rank #143, 16 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 |
| 2024 | 15 |
| 2023 | 10 |
| 2022 | 12 |
| 2021 | 7 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2019 | 18 |
| 2018 | 17 |
| 2017 | 22 |
| 2016 | 20 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in Northern Ireland (2025)
Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Baby Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1997 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in British Columbia (Canada)
- Boys: peak in 1949 (rank #25, 134 births); most recent 2023 (rank #84, 39 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 39 |
| 2022 | 49 |
| 2021 | 77 |
| 2020 | 83 |
| 2019 | 60 |
| 2018 | 71 |
| 2017 | 60 |
| 2016 | 68 |
| 2015 | 77 |
| 2014 | 69 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in British Columbia (Canada) (2023)
Source: British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Most popular baby names for the past 100 years. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Changes: names are shown in title case. Data years: 1924 to 2023. Original data · Licence