Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Charles

Say it CHARLZ 1 syllable

Germanic · “free man”

Common across France, three Canadian provinces, three Australian states, and New Zealand. Rare across the UK, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

1 in 622 boys born in England and Wales in 2025. Number 119 there.

Charles in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 8, rare in 20.
Charles in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales119 (down)20254371 in 622882020
Scotland298 (down)2025121 in 1,6371682020
Northern Ireland143 (up)2025161 in 5181932020
Ireland188 (up)2025251 in 9491932020
North America
Ontario (province)76 (down)2024156about 1 in 384522019
Quebec (province)15 (up)2025329about 1 in 88162020
British Columbia (province)84 (down)202339about 1 in 334482018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)94 (down)202592672020
Victoria (state)90 (down)202585742020
Queensland (state)75 (down)202579732020
South Australia (state)Not in the published top 1002025852020
New Zealand78 (up)202551862020
Western Europe
France52 (up)20251,0401 in 2911002020
Netherlands475 (up)202531about 1 in 2,1466512020
Central Europe
Austria594 (up)202571 in 5,4386022020
Switzerland253 (up)2025311 in 1,1612712020
Berlin (city)297 (up)202311about 1 in 1,4104222018
Munich (city)Rare: below the complete list20251992020
Cologne (city)Rare: below the complete list20239802018
Bonn (city)397 (new in the list)20251about 1 in 3,170Not listed2020
Leipzig (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Rostock (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Nordic countries
Norway448 (down)202551 in 4,6564432020
Sweden228 (down)202538about 1 in 1,1352012020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Italy2,875 (new in the list)202421 in 94,679Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland490 (up)202541 in 31,6015822020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Charles is a Germanic name. It came to English from French, and before that from Latin Carolus and the Frankish Karl, from a Germanic word meaning 'free man'. The ordinary English word churl comes from the same root.

2 more paragraphs

Said in a single syllable, CHARLZ, it sounds formal and composed. Its short forms are many: Charlie and Charley are the familiar ones, with Chas and Chuck also listed, and across Europe it becomes Carl, Karl, Karol, Carlo and Carlos.

Charles is most popular today in Quebec, where it ranks among the leading boys' names, and it appears in Queensland, Ontario and France. French records show a long history, with the name at its most common in the 1920s. Its current trend is mixed, with slightly more places falling than rising.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
CHARLZ · 1 syllable
Meaning
“free man”
Origin
Germanic
Related names
Charlie, Cathal, Carlo, Carlos, Carl, Karl, Karol, Karlo, Charleston, Charley, Chuck, Chucky, Chuckie, Chas, Chaz, Chip, Carroll, Carol, Carolus, Charlot
Where Charles comes from (Wiktionary)

From French Charles, from Old French Charles, Carles, from Latin Carolus, from and also reinfluenced by Frankish and Old High German Karl, from Proto-Germanic *karilaz (“free man”); compare the English word churl and the German Kerl.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Charles. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Charles over time

Rising in 4 of the 17 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 7. Peak in France: 1925.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Charles in England and Wales: #44 in 1996, a peak of #41 in 1998, and #119 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #44, 1,738 boys1997: #42, 1,762 boys1998: #41, 1,868 boys1999: #41, 1,667 boys2000: #44, 1,530 boys2001: #50, 1,290 boys2002: #48, 1,309 boys2003: #48, 1,302 boys2004: #49, 1,440 boys2005: #49, 1,372 boys2006: #50, 1,443 boys2007: #54, 1,454 boys2008: #56, 1,346 boys2009: #58, 1,225 boys2010: #62, 1,152 boys2011: #60, 1,090 boys2012: #62, 1,088 boys2013: #61, 1,029 boys2014: #63, 1,037 boys2015: #66, 985 boys2016: #72, 910 boys2017: #73, 877 boys2018: #81, 758 boys2019: #86, 707 boys2020: #88, 646 boys2021: #91, 639 boys2022: #102, 533 boys2023: #121, 442 boys2024: #119, 452 boys2025: #119, 437 boys#44 in 1996peak #41, 1998#119in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996441,738
1997421,762
1998411,868
1999411,667
2000441,530
2001501,290
2002481,309
2003481,302
2004491,440
2005491,372
2006501,443
2007541,454
2008561,346
2009581,225
2010621,152
2011601,090
2012621,088
2013611,029
2014631,037
201566985
201672910
201773877
201881758
201986707
202088646
202191639
2022102533
2023121442
2024119452
2025119437

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in France

Half of the boys named Charles in France since 1925 were born in or after 1954. Peak: 1925, about 1,270 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 1,181.1 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 954.4 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 730.5 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 588.4 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 397.9 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 307.5 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 273.1 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 214.4 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 168.6 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 150.6 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 170.2 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 246.5 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 345.4 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 360.3 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 337.2 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 251.2 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 186 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 172.9 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 192 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 232 per 100,000 boys20202025: 343.6 per 100,000 boys20251925-1929: about 1 in 85 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19291,181.1
1930–1934954.4
1935–1939730.5
1940–1944588.4
1945–1949397.9
1950–1954307.5
1955–1959273.1
1960–1964214.4
1965–1969168.6
1970–1974150.6
1975–1979170.2
1980–1984246.5
1985–1989345.4
1990–1994360.3
1995–1999337.2
2000–2004251.2
2005–2009186
2010–2014172.9
2015–2019192
2020–2024232
2025343.6

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Charles

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Charles, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 92, Northern Ireland

  2. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 123, Catalonia

  4. 1 in 1,186, Ireland

  5. 1 in 322, Scotland

  6. 1 in 145, Ireland

  7. 1 in 196, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 308, England and Wales

  9. 1 in 130, Ireland

  10. 1 in 61, Austria

All 40 brother names for Charles

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Charles's 1 syllable and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 118, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 105, Ireland

  6. 1 in 130, Scotland

  7. 1 in 67, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 62, Poland

Full-name check

Charles Oliver

Syllables 1-3Initials C.O.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Charles

Sisters for Charles: Annie, Eleanor, Edith, and 5 more
  1. AnnieRose and fell with Charles · Same generation as Charles
  2. EleanorRose and fell with Charles · Same generation as Charles
  3. EdithRose and fell with Charles · Same generation as Charles
  4. ElizabethRose and fell with Charles · As common as Charles
  5. BeatriceRose and fell with Charles · As common as Charles
  6. IsabelleRose and fell with Charles · As common as Charles
  7. JosephineRose and fell with Charles · Same generation as Charles
  8. MaryRose and fell with Charles · Same generation as Charles

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Charles

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Charles's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare in Italy, Poland, Israel, and 15 more places.

  2. Common in England and Wales, the Netherlands, Austria, and 12 more places.

  3. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 13 more places.

  4. Common across the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, and 9 more places.

  5. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 9 more places.

  6. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 19 more places.

  7. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 12 more places.

  8. Common in the Netherlands, Ontario, Austria, and 16 more places.

Famous people named Charles

Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Charles

How popular is Charles in Queensland?

Charles ranked #75 in Queensland in 2025, given to 79 boys.

Is Charles rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 4 of the 17 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 7. Rising in: Northern Ireland, France, Berlin, and Netherlands.

What does Charles mean?

Charles means “free man”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Charles have?

Charles has 1 syllable: CHARLZ.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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