ninan.org

Charles

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~1,248,000 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#48 among boys
Births in 2025
5,908 2,447,135 since 1880
Typical age
60 years, median

Charles popularity over time

Charles rank by birth year, 1880–2025Charles ranked #4 in 1880 and #48 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #4, in 1880.#10#48best #4 in 188018901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Charles was used most in 1947, when 40,919 babies were given the name. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Across the record, 146 years put Charles in the top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #48 with 5,908 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 18%.

Babies named Charles per yearPeaks at 40,919 births in 1947.40,919 in 1947018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Charles?

An estimated 1,248,000 living Americans are called Charles. SSA has recorded 2,447,135 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Charles?

Half of living Charless are older than 60, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 1950s. By the site’s era rules that makes Charles a mid-century perennial name.

Your Charles

Ages of living people named CharlesHalf of living Charless are older than 60 and half younger.median 60020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Charles is most common

Charles is 3.5× as common in Vermont as it is nationally. District of Columbia, New Hampshire and Maine follow.

Where Charles is used more than average5 states use the name Charles more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: 2.3× the national rateMEVermont: 3.5× the national rateVTNew Hampshire: 2.5× the national rateNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: 2.3× the national rateMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 3.4× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Charles is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Vermont 154 3.5×
District of Columbia 386 3.4×
New Hampshire 358 2.5×
Maine 308 2.3×
Massachusetts 2,180 2.3×

Charles in England and Wales

ONS recorded 437 births named Charles in 2025, ranking it #119. That is 32% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Charles comes from

From French Charles, from Old French Charles, Carles, from Latin Carolus, from and also reinfluenced by Frankish and Old High German Karl, from Proto-Germanic *karilaz (“free man”); compare the English word churl and the German Kerl. In reference to the Ecuadorian island, a clipping of the original name King Charles's Island, granted in honor of Charles II of England.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Charles

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Charles Darwin English naturalist and biologist 1809–1882 278
Charles Dickens English novelist and social critic 1812–1870 247
Charles de Gaulle French general and statesman 1890–1970 220
Charles Baudelaire French poet and critic 1821–1867 179
Charles III King of the United Kingdom since 2022 1948 176
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 to 1556 1500–1558 125
Charles Babbage English mathematician, philosopher, and engineer 1791–1871 114
Charles I of England King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1625 to 1649 1600–1649 110
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 5,765 in 1911 to 11,137 in 1912 — 1.9 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/charles.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).