Charles
1% girls · 99% boys
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.
Charles for boys#48 US
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.
Charles for girls#9583 US
Charlie may be one of the most gender-neutral names, used in the US last year for about 2200 baby girls and 2100 baby boys. The formal Charles, by contrast, is almost totally male -- but not completely, with nine baby girls named Charles.
Pronounced CHARLZ.
As of October 2026, Charles ranked #48 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #4 in 1883, Nameberry popularity #94.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #51 | 7,360 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #50 | 7,204 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #52 | 7,125 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #48 | 7,189 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #53 | 6,663 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #52 | 6,403 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #46 | 6,243 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #50 | 6,003 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #50 | 5,934 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #54 | 5,415 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #51 | 5,593 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #48 | 5,898 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Charles.
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Charles on lists
Famous Charless
- Charles I "the Great" aka CharlemagneBoy
Holy Roman Emperor
- Charles IIBoy
VI, Holy Roman Emperors
- Charles I and IIBoy
Kings of England, Scotland and Ireland
- Charles Philip Arthur GeorgeBoy
Prince of Wales, British heir apparent
- Charles MartelBoy
Duke of the Franks
- Charles II and IIIBoy
Kings of Spain
- Charles IV (born Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego)Boy
King of Spain
- Charles IIBoy
IX, Kings of France
- Charles X (born Charles Philippe)Boy
King of France
- Charles IBoy
XIII, Kings of Sweden
- Charles XIV JohnBoy
King of Sweden
- Charles XV (born Carl Ludvig Eugen)Boy
King of Sweden
- Charles I (born Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Victor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão)Boy
King of Portugal
- Charles I (born Karl Franz Joseph Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria)Boy
last Emperor of Austria
- Charles I (born Charles Robert)Boy
King of Hungary
- Charles IBoy
III, Kings of Naples
- Saint Charles BorromeoBoy
Italian cardinal
- Charles John Huffam DickensBoy
English novelist
- Charles Robert DarwinBoy
English naturalist
- Charles Andre Joseph Marie de GaulleBoy
President of France
- Matthew Charles "Matt" CzuchryBoy
American actor
- Charles Spencer "Charlie" ChaplinBoy
English actor and director
- Charles Warren FairbanksBoy
26th U.S. Vice President
- Charles Gates DawesBoy
30th U.S. Vice President
- Charles CurtisBoy
31st U.S. Vice President
- Charles Sebastian Thomas CabotBoy
English actor
- (Walter) Charles DanceBoy
English actor
- Charles Monroe SchulzBoy
American cartoonist
- Charles Martin "Chuck" JonesBoy
American animator
- (Henry) Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski)Boy
American novelist
- Charles Mingus Jr.Boy
American jazz musician
- Charles Otto "Charlie" Puth Jr.Boy
American singer,songwriter
- (Louis) Charles Auguste Claude TrenetBoy
French singer,songwriter
- Charles Wade BarkleyBoy
American basketball player
- Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose Jr.Boy
American broadcast presenter
- Charles Phillip IngallsBoy
father of novelist Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky)Boy
American actor
- Charles BoyerBoy
French actor
- Charles PerraultBoy
French folklorist
- Charles Francis AdamsBoy
son of U.S. President John Quincy Adams
- Charles Y.J.Gh. MichelBoy
Prime Minister of Belgium
- Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" BerryBoy
American musician
- Charles "Charlie" Parker Jr.Boy
American musician
- Charles George Patrick ShaughnessyBoy
5th Baron Shaughnessy, English actor
- Charles Michael DavisBoy
American model & actor
- Charles Michael LevineBoy
birth name of Chuck Lorre, American TV writer and producer
- Charles "Charlie" CarverBoy
American actor; twin brother Max Carver
- Charles Edward DurningBoy
American actor
- John Charles CarterBoy
birth name of American actor Charlton Heston
- Charles Samuel "Chas" AddamsBoy
American cartoonist
- Charles Henry HoldenBoy
English architect
- Charles AtanganaBoy
Cameroonian chief
- Charles KuraltBoy
American TV journalist
- CharlesBoy
Valentin Alkan, French composer
- Charles Villiers StanfordBoy
Irish composer
- Charles Nelson ReillyBoy
American actor
- Charles deWolf "Charlie" GibsonBoy
American TV journalist
- Charles Stuart "Charlie" KaufmanBoy
American film director and writer
- Charles Carroll of CarrolltonBoy
signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence
- Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor JrBoy
American actor
- Charles Peckham "Charlie" DayBoy
American actor/comedian
- Charles George "Charlie" MacartneyBoy
Australian cricketer
- Charles Edward SpearmanBoy
English psychologist
- Charles Stewart ParnellBoy
Irish politician and revolutionary
- Charles DevoeBoy
American model
- Charles Conrad "Chad" LoweBoy
American actor and brother of Rob Lowe
- Charles W. MisnerBoy
American physicist
- Charles Michael "Bucky" LasekBoy
American pro skateboarder
- Charles Albert GobatBoy
Swiss politician and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
- Charles BabbageBoy
English polymath
- Charles McArthur Ghankay TaylorBoy
former president of Liberia
- Charles "Charlie" BassettBoy
American Western figure
- Charles Doyle "Charlie" Haas IIBoy
American pro wrestler
- Charles GrodinBoy
American actor
- Charles Stewart HowardBoy
American owner of racehorse Seabiscuit
- Charles Rocket (born Charles Adams Claverie)Boy
American actor/comedian
- Charles Ellis "Chuck" SchumerBoy
U.S. Senator from New York
- Charles Ernest "Chuck" GrassleyBoy
U.S. Senator from Iowa
- Charles Timothy "Chuck" HagelBoy
former U.S. Secretary of Defense
- Charles Elwood "Chuck" YeagerBoy
U.S. Air Force general and test pilot
- Charles A Bassett IIBoy
American astronaut
- Charles Paul Trippy IIIBoy
Youtube personality "CTFxC," bassist for We The Kings
- Charles Alden Black and Charles Alden Black Jr.Boy
husband and son of child star Shirley Temple
- Charles LeeBoy
American Revolutionary general
- Charles Stephen "Chad" Paine IIIBoy
American reality TV personality; husband of Erin (Bates) Paine of "Bringing Up Bates"
- Charles Stephen "Carson" Paine IVBoy
son of Erin Bates Paine & Chad Paine
- Charles Spencer "Charlie" CroweBoy
son of actor Russell Crowe
- Charles McHugh O'DonnellBoy
son of actor Chris O'Donnell
- Charles Max "Charley" Feldman (b. 2016)Boy
son of Savannah Guthrie and Mike Feldman
- Charles LeclercBoy
monegasque formula one racing driver
- Charles Elisha Manning (b. 2019)Boy
son of American football quarterback Eli Manning
- Charles Osgood (b. 1933) retired American radio & television personalityBoy
hosted CBS Sunday Morning
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834Boy
1892) famous Baptist preacher called the "Prince of Preachers"
- Charles Schwab (b. 1937) American investorBoy
financial executive, philanthropist
- Charles Martinet (b. 1955) Voice of MarioBoy
Wario, Luigi, Waluigi, Baby Luigi, Baby Mario for Nintendo video games
Charles in pop culture
- Charles "Charlie" KellyBoy
main character from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Charles "Chip" ShreckBoy
character in DC Universe
- Charles DiLaurentisBoy
Uber A from 'Pretty Little Liars'
- Charles Augustus Milverton (or Magnussen)Boy
villain in the 'Sherlock Holmes' series
- Charles BingleyBoy
character in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"
- Charles "Chuck" BassBoy
character in the "Gossip Girl" series
- Charles Francis Xavier aka Professor XBoy
from Marvel Universe
- Charles Irving "Chuck" BartowskiBoy
main character on TV's "Chuck"
- Charles "Trip" TuckerBoy
character on TV's "Star Trek: Enterprise"
- Charles "Charlie" FinemanBoy
character in movie "Reign Over Me"
- Charles "Chuck" LevineBoy
character in movie "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry"
- Charles LeeBoy
character in the video game "Assassin's Creed III" (based on a historical Revolutionary War general of the same name)
- Charles "Charlie" EppesBoy
character on TV's "Numb3rs"
- Charles 'Charlie' WeasleyBoy
character in the Harry Potter series
- Charles DalimarBoy
character in video game Mystery Case Files Ravenhearst series
- Charles Emerson Winchester IIIBoy
character in the TV series "M*A*S*H"
- Charles "Charley" HardyBoy
character in G. A. Henty's, Out on the Pampas
- Charles MacaulayBoy
character in Donna Tartt's "The Secret History"
- Charles "Charlie" BoneBoy
the protagonist of Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
- Charles HamiltonBoy
character in "Gone with the Wind"
- Charles BlakeBoy
character on Downton Abbey
- Charles "Chuck" HansenBoy
character in "Pacific Rim"
- Charles Foster KaneBoy
character in "Citizen Kane"
- Charles LaRousse DreyfusBoy
character in The Pink Panther film series
- Charles "Chuck" ScolnikBoy
character in the TV series "One Tree Hill"
- CharlesBoy
main character on the TV series "Charles in Charge"
- Charles Montgomery "Monty" BurnsBoy
aka Mr. Burns, character on "The Simpsons"
- Charles BoyleBoy
character in the TV series "Brooklyn Nine,Nine"
- Charles Baker "Dill" HarrisBoy
character in the novel and film "To Kill a Mockingbird"
- Charles VanceBoy
character in the TV series Star Trek: Discovery, Fleet Admiral Charles Vance is a 32nd century human
- Charles WellsBoy
Character from the webcomic "Sparklecare Hospital"
- Charles GunnBoy
character from Joss Whedon's TV series "Angel"