Charles
Top 1000
About Charles
Charles derives from the Germanic name Karl, meaning "man" or "free man", and is a royal name in multiple European countries. A famous early bearer is Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards and then Roman Emperor in the 8th-9th centuries.
The word for "king" in several languages, including Slavic, Russian, and Polish, came from Charles. And, of course, Charles III is the current king of Great Britain.
Charles is a longtime traditional favorite that was in the Top 10 until the 1960s. Though not as popular as it once was, it's still a widely used name.
The most fashionable form of Charles today is Charlie, used almost equally for girls and boys. And of course, Charlie or Charley is still used as a short form for Charles, along with the old school Chuck and new school Chas/Chaz.
Lately, Charles has been resuscitated by many celeb parents, from Jodie Foster to Russell Crowe, honoring a distinguished history dating back to the emperor Charlemagne—the original Charles the Great.
Charles has been so well used for so long that it is virtually faceless—it can conjure up anyone from Dickens to Chaplin to Bronson. It has been an elegant royal name—designating both Bonnie Prince Charlie, leader of a 1745 rebellion, and the present king, as well as previous kings of France, Spain, England, Portugal, and Hungary.
Among the well used international versions of Charles: Carl, Carlo, Carlos, Karel, Xarles, Charlot, and Siarl.
Pronounced CHARLZ.
As of October 2026, Charles ranked #48 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #4 in 1883, Nameberry popularity #98.
Editor's take: The name Charles is a boy's name of German, French origin meaning "free man".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #51 | 7,360 | 3,831.6 |
| 2015 | #50 | 7,204 | 3,758.5 |
| 2016 | #52 | 7,125 | 3,754.5 |
| 2017 | #48 | 7,189 | 3,883.9 |
| 2018 | #53 | 6,663 | 3,668.7 |
| 2019 | #52 | 6,403 | 3,568.7 |
| 2020 | #46 | 6,243 | 3,616.9 |
| 2021 | #50 | 6,003 | 3,431.3 |
| 2022 | #50 | 5,934 | 3,398.6 |
| 2023 | #54 | 5,415 | 3,165.6 |
| 2024 | #51 | 5,593 | 3,246.3 |
| 2025 | #48 | 5,898 | 3,453 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Charles.
- Thomas
- Edward
- Peter
- George
- Samuel
- William
- Louis
- Joseph
- John
- Harry
- Patrick
- Benjamin
- Philip
- David
- Nicholas
- Andrew
- Timothy
- Daniel
- Simon
- Robert
Charles on lists
Famous Charless
- Charles I "the Great" aka Charlemagne
Holy Roman Emperor
- Charles II
VI, Holy Roman Emperors
- Charles I and II
Kings of England, Scotland and Ireland
- Charles Philip Arthur George
Prince of Wales, British heir apparent
- Charles Martel
Duke of the Franks
- Charles II and III
Kings of Spain
- Charles IV (born Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego)
King of Spain
- Charles II
IX, Kings of France
- Charles X (born Charles Philippe)
King of France
- Charles I
XIII, Kings of Sweden
- Charles XIV John
King of Sweden
- Charles XV (born Carl Ludvig Eugen)
King of Sweden
- Charles I (born Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Victor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão)
King of Portugal
- Charles I (born Karl Franz Joseph Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria)
last Emperor of Austria
- Charles I (born Charles Robert)
King of Hungary
- Charles I
III, Kings of Naples
- Saint Charles Borromeo
Italian cardinal
- Charles John Huffam Dickens
English novelist
- Charles Robert Darwin
English naturalist
- Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle
President of France
- Matthew Charles "Matt" Czuchry
American actor
- Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin
English actor and director
- Charles Warren Fairbanks
26th U.S. Vice President
- Charles Gates Dawes
30th U.S. Vice President
- Charles Curtis
31st U.S. Vice President
- Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot
English actor
- (Walter) Charles Dance
English actor
- Charles Monroe Schulz
American cartoonist
- Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones
American animator
- (Henry) Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski)
American novelist
- Charles Mingus Jr.
American jazz musician
- Charles Otto "Charlie" Puth Jr.
American singer,songwriter
- (Louis) Charles Auguste Claude Trenet
French singer,songwriter
- Charles Wade Barkley
American basketball player
- Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose Jr.
American broadcast presenter
- Charles Phillip Ingalls
father of novelist Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky)
American actor
- Charles Boyer
French actor
- Charles Perrault
French folklorist
- Charles Francis Adams
son of U.S. President John Quincy Adams
- Charles Y.J.Gh. Michel
Prime Minister of Belgium
- Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry
American musician
- Charles "Charlie" Parker Jr.
American musician
- Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy
5th Baron Shaughnessy, English actor
- Charles Michael Davis
American model & actor
- Charles Michael Levine
birth name of Chuck Lorre, American TV writer and producer
- Charles "Charlie" Carver
American actor; twin brother Max Carver
- Charles Edward Durning
American actor
- John Charles Carter
birth name of American actor Charlton Heston
- Charles Samuel "Chas" Addams
American cartoonist
- Charles Henry Holden
English architect
- Charles Atangana
Cameroonian chief
- Charles Kuralt
American TV journalist
- Charles
Valentin Alkan, French composer
- Charles Villiers Stanford
Irish composer
- Charles Nelson Reilly
American actor
- Charles deWolf "Charlie" Gibson
American TV journalist
- Charles Stuart "Charlie" Kaufman
American film director and writer
- Charles Carroll of Carrollton
signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence
- Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr
American actor
- Charles Peckham "Charlie" Day
American actor/comedian
- Charles George "Charlie" Macartney
Australian cricketer
- Charles Edward Spearman
English psychologist
- Charles Stewart Parnell
Irish politician and revolutionary
- Charles Devoe
American model
- Charles Conrad "Chad" Lowe
American actor and brother of Rob Lowe
- Charles W. Misner
American physicist
- Charles Michael "Bucky" Lasek
American pro skateboarder
- Charles Albert Gobat
Swiss politician and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
- Charles Babbage
English polymath
- Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor
former president of Liberia
- Charles "Charlie" Bassett
American Western figure
- Charles Doyle "Charlie" Haas II
American pro wrestler
- Charles Grodin
American actor
- Charles Stewart Howard
American owner of racehorse Seabiscuit
- Charles Rocket (born Charles Adams Claverie)
American actor/comedian
- Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer
U.S. Senator from New York
- Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley
U.S. Senator from Iowa
- Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel
former U.S. Secretary of Defense
- Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager
U.S. Air Force general and test pilot
- Charles A Bassett II
American astronaut
- Charles Paul Trippy III
Youtube personality "CTFxC," bassist for We The Kings
- Charles Alden Black and Charles Alden Black Jr.
husband and son of child star Shirley Temple
- Charles Lee
American Revolutionary general
- Charles Stephen "Chad" Paine III
American reality TV personality; husband of Erin (Bates) Paine of "Bringing Up Bates"
- Charles Stephen "Carson" Paine IV
son of Erin Bates Paine & Chad Paine
- Charles Spencer "Charlie" Crowe
son of actor Russell Crowe
- Charles McHugh O'Donnell
son of actor Chris O'Donnell
- Charles Max "Charley" Feldman (b. 2016)
son of Savannah Guthrie and Mike Feldman
- Charles Leclerc
monegasque formula one racing driver
- Charles Elisha Manning (b. 2019)
son of American football quarterback Eli Manning
- Charles Osgood (b. 1933) retired American radio & television personality
hosted CBS Sunday Morning
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834
1892) famous Baptist preacher called the "Prince of Preachers"
- Charles Schwab (b. 1937) American investor
financial executive, philanthropist
- Charles Martinet (b. 1955) Voice of Mario
Wario, Luigi, Waluigi, Baby Luigi, Baby Mario for Nintendo video games
Charles in pop culture
- Charles "Charlie" Kelly
main character from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Charles "Chip" Shreck
character in DC Universe
- Charles DiLaurentis
Uber A from 'Pretty Little Liars'
- Charles Augustus Milverton (or Magnussen)
villain in the 'Sherlock Holmes' series
- Charles Bingley
character in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"
- Charles "Chuck" Bass
character in the "Gossip Girl" series
- Charles Francis Xavier aka Professor X
from Marvel Universe
- Charles Irving "Chuck" Bartowski
main character on TV's "Chuck"
- Charles "Trip" Tucker
character on TV's "Star Trek: Enterprise"
- Charles "Charlie" Fineman
character in movie "Reign Over Me"
- Charles "Chuck" Levine
character in movie "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry"
- Charles Lee
character in the video game "Assassin's Creed III" (based on a historical Revolutionary War general of the same name)
- Charles "Charlie" Eppes
character on TV's "Numb3rs"
- Charles 'Charlie' Weasley
character in the Harry Potter series
- Charles Dalimar
character in video game Mystery Case Files Ravenhearst series
- Charles Emerson Winchester III
character in the TV series "M*A*S*H"
- Charles "Charley" Hardy
character in G. A. Henty's, Out on the Pampas
- Charles Macaulay
character in Donna Tartt's "The Secret History"
- Charles "Charlie" Bone
the protagonist of Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
- Charles Hamilton
character in "Gone with the Wind"
- Charles Blake
character on Downton Abbey
- Charles "Chuck" Hansen
character in "Pacific Rim"
- Charles Foster Kane
character in "Citizen Kane"
- Charles LaRousse Dreyfus
character in The Pink Panther film series
- Charles "Chuck" Scolnik
character in the TV series "One Tree Hill"
- Charles
main character on the TV series "Charles in Charge"
- Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns
aka Mr. Burns, character on "The Simpsons"
- Charles Boyle
character in the TV series "Brooklyn Nine,Nine"
- Charles Baker "Dill" Harris
character in the novel and film "To Kill a Mockingbird"
- Charles Vance
character in the TV series Star Trek: Discovery, Fleet Admiral Charles Vance is a 32nd century human
- Charles Wells
Character from the webcomic "Sparklecare Hospital"
- Charles Gunn
character from Joss Whedon's TV series "Angel"