Charlie
Top 1000
About Charlie
Charlie derives, of course, from the classic name Charles which, in turn, comes from a German word meaning "free man." Charles became very popular in France during the Middle Ages due to the fame of Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne. Charley is an alternate spelling.
Charlie is one of the friendliest names on the planet, and Good-time Charlie is back. More and more parents (of babies of both genders) these days are opting to put the friendly, genial Charlie on birth certificates.
In fact, one of the most notable things about the name Charlie is that it is used almost equally for girls and boys, given in the US last year to 2200 baby girls and 2100 baby boys. And the popularity of Charlotte and Charles mean there are even more Charlies of both sexes running around American playgrounds.
Charlie has dozens and dozens of pop cultural references, from Charlie Chaplin to Charlie McCarthy to "Charlie's Angels" to Charlie Parker to Charlie Sheen to Charlie Rose.
Putting nicknames on the birth certificate is very much a growing trend. Current celebs who have chosen Charlie for their sons include Alison Roman, Tiger Woods, Mimi Rogers, Soledad O'Brien and Sarah Chalke.
Pronounced CHAR-lee.
As of October 2026, Charlie ranked #145 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #20 in 1881, Nameberry popularity #91.
Editor's take: The name Charlie is a boy's name of English origin meaning "free man".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #225 | 1,696 | 882.9 |
| 2015 | #231 | 1,674 | 873.4 |
| 2016 | #227 | 1,711 | 901.6 |
| 2017 | #213 | 1,793 | 968.7 |
| 2018 | #218 | 1,730 | 952.6 |
| 2019 | #211 | 1,832 | 1,021.1 |
| 2020 | #204 | 1,871 | 1,084 |
| 2021 | #188 | 2,008 | 1,147.8 |
| 2022 | #178 | 2,107 | 1,206.8 |
| 2023 | #175 | 2,099 | 1,227.1 |
| 2024 | #176 | 2,084 | 1,209.6 |
| 2025 | #145 | 2,460 | 1,440.2 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Charlie.
- Max
- Jack
- Harry
- Maxwell
- Murdo
- Benjamin
- James
- Archie
- Luke
- Jonah
- Miles
- Louis
- Sam
- Samuel
- Thomas
- Harrison
- Eli
- William
- Isaac
- Ben
Charlie on lists
Famous Charlies
- Charlie Sheen (born Carlos Irwin Estevez)
American actor
- Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin
English actor and director
- Charles Otto "Charlie" Puth Jr.
American singer,songwriter
- Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels
American country musician
- Charles "Charlie" Parker
Jr. American jazz
- Charlie Barnes
British indie musician and touring member of British band Bastille.
- Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose
Jr., American journalist and TV host
- Charles Matthew "Charlie" Hunnam
British actor
- Charles Peckham "Charlie" Day
American actor
- Charles deWolf "Charlie" Gibson
American TV journalist
- Charles Stuart "Charlie" Kaufman
American film director and screenwriter
- Charles Joseph "Charlie" McDonnell
(charlieissocoollike), English vlogger
- Charles "Charlie" Callas
American comedian and actor
- Charles "Charlie" Tahan
American actor
- Charlie Bilodeau
Canadian pair skater
- Charlie John Rowe
English actor
- Charles George "Charlie" Macartney
Australian cricketer
- Charles "Charlie" Bassett
American Old Western lawman
- Charles Doyle "Charlie" Haas
American pro wrestler
- Charles Robert "Charlie" Simpson
member of British band Busted
- Charlie Thomas Cox
English actor
- Charles "Charlie" Carver
American actor; twin brother Max Carver
- Charles Joseph "Charlie" McDermott
American actor
- Charlie Barnett
American actor
- Charlie McDowell
American film director; son of actors Mary Steenburgen and Malcolm McDowell
- Charlie Matthau
son of actor Walter Matthau
- Charles "Charlie" Laurie (b. 1988)
son of actor Hugh Laurie
- Charlie Gilmour (b. 1991)
son of guitarist David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
- Charlie Ciaffa
son of actress Mimi Rogers and Chris Ciaffa
- Charles Spencer "Charlie" Crowe
son of actor Russell Crowe
- Charlie Harrison (b. 2002)
son of actress Rebecca Lacey and Paul Harrison
- Charles "Charlie" Raymond (b. 2004)
son of TV journalist Soledad O'Brien and Bradley Raymond
- Charlie Hill (b. 2007)
son of singer Claire Richards and Reece Hill
- Charlie Rhodes Afifi (b. 2009)
son of actress Sarah Chalke and Jamie Afifi
- Charlie Moonves (b 2009)
son of TV presenter Julie Chen and executive Les Moonves
- Charlie Quivrin (b. 2009)
son of actors Alice Taglioni and Jocelyn Quivrin
- Charlie McEnroe (b. 2009)
son of tennis players John McEnroe and Ashley Harkleroad
- Charlie Axel Woods (b. 2009)
son of golfer Tiger Woods
- Charlie Austin Cryer
son of actors Jon Cryer and Sarah Trigger
- Charlie Hedman (b. 2011)
son of model/singer Magdalene Graaf and footballer Magnus Hedman
- Charlie Emery (b. 2012)
son of actors Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer; twin sister Poppy
- Charlie Alcott (b. 2013)
son of TV presenter Katy Ashworth and Ben Alcott
- Charlie Wnuk (b. 2014)
son of actors Yvonne Catterfeld and Oliver Wnuk
- Charlie West Arquette (b. 2014)
son of actor David Arquette
- Charlie Ocean Goldblum (b. 2015)
son of actor Jeff Goldblum
- Charlie Kirk (b. 1993)
founder of Turning Point U.S.A
- Charlie Heaton
American actor
- Charlie Wolf Pechenik (b. 2017)
son of American actress and singer,songwriter Zooey Deschanel
- Charlie Ralph Faulborn (b. 2018)
son of American actress Kelli Giddish
- Charles "Charlie" Duncan Green V AKA CG5
American singer songwritter youtuber.
Charlie in pop culture
- Charlie Brown
main character in the Peanuts comic strip and series
- Charlie Townsend
unseen character in "Charlie's Angels," TV and movie series
- Charlie Weasley
character in the "Harry Potter" series
- Charlie Peaceful
character in Michael Morpurgo's "Private Peaceful"
- Charlie Harper
character on TV's "Two and a Half Men," played by Charlie Sheen
- Charlie Kelly
character on TV's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," played by Charlie Day
- Charlie Sonner
character from Lauren Child's "Charlie and Lola"
- Charlie Pace
a character on TV's "LOST"
- Charlie the Tuna
the cartoon mascot for StarKist Tuna
- Charlie Francis
a character on TV's "Fringe"
- "Charlie the Unicorn
" YouTube cartoon
- "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
" novel by Ben Turner and 2010 film
- Charlie
character in short story "Amanda's Awakening" by author Cheri Lille
- Charlie Bucket
main character in Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
- Charlie Bone
main character in Jenny Nimmo's "Children of the Red King" series
- Charlie Blossom
character on TV's "The Worst Witch"
- Charlie Croker
character in movie "The Italian Job"
- Charlie Venner
character in movie "Straw Dogs,"
- Charles "Charlie" Fineman
character in movie "Reign Over Me"
- Charlie Brooks
character on TV's "Walker, Texas Ranger"
- Charlie Kidd
character in "Sims" series
- Charlie Swan
Bella's father in the Twilight Saga
- Charlie Kelmeckis
main character in Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower "
- Charlie Conway
character in The Mighty Ducks movies
- Charlie Calvin
character in The Santa Clause movies
- Charles "Charlie" Eppes
a main character on TV's "Numb3rs"
- Charles "Charlie" Hutchison
character on TV's "Red Band Society"
- Charlie Dog
Looney Tunes character
- Charlie B. Barkin
dog in the "All Dogs Go to Heaven" film series
- Charlie Muffin
main character in the Charlie M series by Brian Freemantle
- Charlie
Dory's father in Pixar's "Finding Dory"
- Charlie Hesketh
antagonist from "Kingsman: The Secret Service"
- "Good Luck Charlie
" TV series about a female Charlie
- "Charlie Hebdo
" French satirical journal
- Charlie Bucktin
character in book and movie "Jasper Jones"
- "Charlie Bit Me"
viral YouTube video
- Charlie Cobalt
character in the Addicted Series
- Charlie Price
main character in the broadway musical "Kinky Boots"
- Charlie Spring
character in web comic 'Heartstopper' by Alice Oseman
- "Charlie MacPherson"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- Charlie Appleby
character in “I Love Lucy”