Charity
Charity was the 1981st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 97 babies. Its best year was 1975, when it ranked 183rd with 1,420 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 772 places. More babies were named Charity in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning charity, Christian love · English, Latin
Say it CHAIR-ih-tee /ˈtʃɛrɪti/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,981 girls, down 502 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 97girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19751,420 babies
- Total since 1880
- 35,557babies recorded
What does the name Charity mean?
Charity is a virtue name, from the word charity in its biblical sense of Christian love, from Latin caritas. DMNES dates its use as an English name to the second half of the 16th century, among Protestants. Wiktionary links it with the "faith, hope and charity" of 1 Corinthians 13:13 and with the legendary martyred sisters Faith, Hope and Charity. Charity was most popular in the US in the 1970s.
caritas (Latin, “love, dearness”)charite (Middle English, “Christian love”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Faith, Hope, Grace, Carys.
See also: English names, names that mean love, virtue names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Charity', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Charity', DMNES (Durham University)
- New Testament, 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NRSV Updated Edition), Bible Gateway
Charity popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 39 since 1975.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,981 | 97 |
| 2020 | #1,479 | 145 |
| 2010 | #851 | 315 |
| 2000 | #456 | 608 |
| 1990 | #458 | 536 |
| 1980 | #243 | 1,061 |
| 1970 | #546 | 343 |
| 1960 | #1,313 | 70 |
| 1950 | #1,241 | 55 |
| 1940 | #1,119 | 42 |
| 1930 | #1,163 | 41 |
| 1920 | #915 | 63 |
| 1910 | #641 | 44 |
| 1900 | #509 | 44 |
| 1890 | #351 | 53 |
| 1880 | #290 | 29 |
How popular is Charity, counting every spelling?
Charity has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Charity?
97 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Charity (0.03 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Charity born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 86 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Charity.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Charity?
About 31,400 people born in the US named Charity are alive today, with a median age of 41; half are between 27 and 49. That makes Charity mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Charity by state
How common Charity was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Georgia (1.6×), Michigan (1.6×). In 32 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Charity: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Charity, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Charity · Sibling names for Charity
Questions about the name Charity
What does Charity mean?
Charity means “charity, Christian love” (English, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Charity?
Charity was the 1981st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 97 babies. Its best year was 1975, when it ranked 183rd with 1,420 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 772 places. More babies were named Charity in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Charity a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Charity in the US.
Where is Charity most popular?
In 2021–2025, Charity was most common in Missouri (0.14 per 1,000 girls), followed by Kentucky and Tennessee.