Charlene
Charlene was the 1948th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 99 babies. Its best year was 1949, when it ranked 100th; the most babies were born in 1952 (3,546). Over the last ten years it has moved down 415 places. More babies were named Charlene in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning feminine of Charles (19th-century coinage) · English, Germanic
Say it shar-LEEN /ʃɑɹˈlin/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,948 girls, down 244 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 99girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19523,546 babies
- Total since 1880
- 134,111babies recorded
What does the name Charlene mean?
Charlene is a feminine form of Charles coined in the 19th century, as Wiktionary notes, with the -ene ending of Marlene and Helene. Charles comes from Germanic karl 'man, free man', as DMNES notes, the same word as Old English ceorl 'freeman'. Charlene belongs to a group of 19th- and 20th-century feminine coinages, with Charlotte and Caroline as the older feminine forms of Charles. Wiktionary notes it was most used in the US in the 1940s.
karl (Old High German, “man, free man”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Charlotte, Caroline, Sharlene, Carla.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Charlene', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Charles', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Charlene
The usual nicknames for Charlene are Charlie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Charlene in the last five years, 2048 were named Charlie, against 109 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie · also for Charles, Charlotte, Charleigh | Traditional | #133 | 11,082 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Charlenes go by each one.
Charlene popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 382 since 1933.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,948 | 99 |
| 2020 | #1,704 | 119 |
| 2010 | #1,598 | 136 |
| 2000 | #1,082 | 191 |
| 1990 | #395 | 659 |
| 1980 | #240 | 1,070 |
| 1970 | #167 | 1,983 |
| 1960 | #148 | 2,894 |
| 1950 | #103 | 3,448 |
| 1940 | #145 | 1,686 |
| 1930 | #195 | 987 |
| 1920 | #383 | 294 |
| 1910 | #772 | 31 |
| 1900 | #1,763 | 6 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Charlene, counting every spelling?
Charlene is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #1,570 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,948 for Charlene on its own. Together these spellings went to 117 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlene | 99 | #1,948 | 541 |
| Charlynn | 7 | #12,176 | 27 |
| Charline | 6 | #13,552 | 26 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Charlene?
99 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Charlene (0.03 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Charlene 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 85 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Charlene.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Charlene?
About 93,800 people born in the US named Charlene are alive today, with a median age of 65; half are between 54 and 75. That makes Charlene a name most people associate with older generations.
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.
Charlene by state
How common Charlene was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in California (1.6×). In 40 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 Charlene: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Charlene, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Charlene · Sibling names for Charlene
Questions about the name Charlene
What does Charlene mean?
Charlene means “feminine of Charles (19th-century coinage)” (English, Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Charlene?
Charlene was the 1948th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 99 babies. Its best year was 1949, when it ranked 100th; the most babies were born in 1952 (3,546). Over the last ten years it has moved down 415 places. More babies were named Charlene in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Charlene a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Charlene in the US.
Where is Charlene most popular?
In 2021–2025, Charlene was most common in California (0.11 per 1,000 girls), followed by Ohio and Tennessee.