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Charles

boy name
Origin
Germanic
Syllables
1
Peak era
1890s/1900s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Charles and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

"man," from the Germanic Karl (Proto-Germanic *karlaz)

Goes by Charley, Charlie, Chas, Chip. See all nicknames

Famously borne by the reigning King Charles III of the UK.

The story

Charles descends from the Germanic karl, a word for man, and one bearer made it royal almost single-handedly: Charlemagne, Charles the Great, whose empire stamped the name onto a thousand years of European kings, from France and Spain to the current British throne. In America it behaved like the aristocrat it is: a top-tier name at the turn of the twentieth century, then a slow, dignified easing over the generations, never a crash, settling into the steady middle level where it has sat since the 1970s. Its nicknames tell their own story, with Charlie in particular taking on a fresh, open-collared life of its own for both boys and girls in recent years. Darwin, Dickens, and Lindbergh all answered to it. Simply man is the meaning, and freedom of movement has been the name's whole career.

More names with stories →

Charles across languages

One shared root links 24 names across 7 languages.

Shared root: traditionally linked to Germanic karl, meaning "man"; Latin form Carolus

The constellation

CharlesEnglishCarlScandinavianKarlGermanCarloItalianKarolPolishCaroleFrenchCarolinaPortuguese
17 more branches of this family
CharlieEnglish · diminutiveCharleyEnglish · diminutiveCharleeEnglish · variantCarolEnglish · short formCarolineFrench · feminine formKarolineGerman · variantCarolynEnglish · variantCarolynnEnglish · variantCarrieEnglish · short formCarlaItalian · feminine formCarlyEnglish · diminutiveCarleyEnglish · variantCarlieEnglish · variantCharlotteFrench · feminine formCharletteEnglish · variantCharleneEnglish · feminine formLottieEnglish · diminutive

Ways to honor Charles →

How popular is Charles around the world?

In the United States, 35,179 babies were named Charles between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 35 boys were registered as Charles in 2017.

Charles is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, New South Wales, England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Brazil, Norway, Austria, Montevideo, Mexico City, Chile, Poland, Spain and Argentina.

United States

1 in 620

In the United States, 35,179 babies were named Charles between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1890s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Charles peaked in the 1890s and the 1900s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

South Australia

1 in 530 · 2017

In South Australia, 35 boys were registered as Charles in 2017.

1944peak 2017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Canada

1 in 560

In Canada, 653 boys named Charles were born in 2024, the 30th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 20152024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

See the full list for Canada →

France

1 in 620

In France, about 1,040 boys named Charles were born in 2025, the 52nd most common name among boys that year.

peak 19002025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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New Zealand

1 in 1,100

In New Zealand, 51 boys named Charles were registered in 2025.

peak 19012025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

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New South Wales

#94 · 2025

In New South Wales, 92 boys named Charles were registered in 2025, ranked 94th in that year’s top 100 for boys.

1952peak 2018

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

England and Wales

1 in 1,300

In England and Wales, 437 boys named Charles were born in 2025, the 119th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19982025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Scotland

1 in 1,600

In Scotland, 28 boys named Charles were registered in 2024, the 160th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19762024

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

Ireland

1 in 2,200

In Ireland, 25 boys named Charles were born in 2025, the 188th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19642025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Brazil

1 in 2,900

At the 2022 census, 68,893 people in Brazil were named Charles, the 438th most common name, with a median age of 34.
Among people named Charles living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1980s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 970 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Norway

1 in 5,600 · register 2026

In Norway, 5 boys were given the name Charles in 2025.

19452025

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Austria

1 in 11,000

In Austria, 7 boys named Charles were born in 2025, the 594th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Montevideo City

1 in 25,000 · 2011

In Montevideo, 1 boy named Charles was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

1940peak 19732011

share of that year’s births on record

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

Mexico City City

1 in 39,000

In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Charles in 2022.

peak 20012022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

Chile

1 in 45,000

In Chile, 4 boys were registered as Charles in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 19692021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Poland

1 in 62,000

In Poland, 4 boys named Charles were born in 2025, the 490th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 20152025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Spain

1 in 66,000

In Spain, 676 residents are named Charles, ranked 1,863rd among men, with a mean age of 45.7 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Argentina

1 in 130,000

In Argentina, 5 newborns were given the name Charles in 2024.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

See the full list for Argentina →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2010

Charles is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 49 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

peak 19982025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Charles

People given the name Charles in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Charles

William Henry Edward Richard Alfonso Enrique

Keep exploring

Names like Charles · Nicknames for Charles · English-Brazilian names · Names of explorers and adventurers · Names of kings and queens

Name trails: explore connections from Charles →

The Charles deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Charles truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Charles fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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