Charlie
Charlie was the 133rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,160 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 122nd; the most babies were born in 2022 (2,341). Over the last ten years it has moved up 74 places. More babies were named Charlie in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Charles or Charlotte: man, free man · English, Germanic
Say it CHAR-lee /ˈtʃɑrli/
- Rank in 2025
- #133 girls, down 11 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 2,160girls
- Girls and boys
- 51% girls, 49% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20222,341 babies
- Total since 1880
- 224,639babies recorded
What does the name Charlie mean?
Charlie began as a pet form of Charles and is now also used for Charlotte and Charlene, and as a name in its own right for both boys and girls, as Wiktionary and Wikipedia note. Charles comes from a Germanic word karl, 'man', related to Old English ceorl, 'free man', according to DMNES. Charlotte is a French feminine diminutive of Charles.
karl (Old High German, “man”)ċeorl (Old English, “free man”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Charles, Charlotte, Charley, Charlee, Chuck.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Charlie', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Charlie (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Charles', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
Nicknames for Charlie
The usual nicknames for Charlie are Chuck.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck · also for Charles | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Charlies go by each one.
Charlie popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #133 | #145 | 2,160 | 2,460 |
| 2020 | #122 | #204 | 2,239 | 1,872 |
| 2010 | #459 | #245 | 672 | 1,431 |
| 2000 | #1,427 | #450 | 129 | 528 |
| 1990 | #1,334 | #423 | 120 | 537 |
| 1980 | #1,624 | #322 | 71 | 596 |
| 1970 | #3,124 | #273 | 21 | 768 |
| 1960 | #1,673 | #221 | 45 | 1,247 |
| 1950 | #877 | #151 | 102 | 1,678 |
| 1940 | #602 | #111 | 134 | 1,762 |
| 1930 | #498 | #91 | 179 | 2,113 |
| 1920 | #491 | #70 | 197 | 2,785 |
| 1910 | #504 | #34 | 65 | 1,107 |
| 1900 | #691 | #25 | 27 | 1,124 |
| 1890 | #794 | #21 | 12 | 797 |
| 1880 | — | #21 | — | 730 |
How popular is Charlie, counting every spelling?
Charlie is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #127 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #133 for Charlie on its own. Together these spellings went to 2,564 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie | 2,160 | #133 | 11,082 |
| Charley | 356 | #760 | 2,031 |
| Charly | 48 | #3,262 | 362 |
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 Charlie?
2,160 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Charlie (0.60 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Charlie 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 4 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Charlie.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Charlie?
About 34,600 people born in the US named Charlie are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 4 and 14. That makes Charlie a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Charlie by state
How common Charlie was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wyoming (3.8×), Montana (3.7×), Alaska (2.6×), Idaho (2.6×), Maine (2.4×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Florida, California, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Charlie: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Charlie, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Charlie · Sibling names for Charlie
Charlie is also a nickname for Charles, Charlotte, Charleigh and Charlene.
Questions about the name Charlie
What does Charlie mean?
Charlie means “pet form of Charles or Charlotte: man, free man” (English, Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Charlie?
Charlie was the 133rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,160 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 122nd; the most babies were born in 2022 (2,341). Over the last ten years it has moved up 74 places. More babies were named Charlie in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Charlie a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 51% girls, 49% boys given the name Charlie in the US.
Where is Charlie most popular?
In 2021–2025, Charlie was most common in Wyoming (5.16 per 1,000 girls), followed by Montana and Alaska.