Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Charlie

Say it CHAR-lee 2 syllables

English · “free man”

Loved across Northern Ireland, three Australian states, and New Zealand. Common across France, England and Wales, three Canadian provinces, and 8 more places. Rare in Italy, Poland, Israel, and 8 more places.

1 in 67 boys born in Northern Ireland in 2025. Number 4 there.

Charlie in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 5, common in 13, rare in 11.
Charlie in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales22 (down)20251,6791 in 162122020
Scotland16 (down)20251671 in 118122020
Northern Ireland420251231 in 6742020
Ireland13 (down)20252251 in 105102020
North America
Ontario (province)71 (up)2024166about 1 in 361842019
Quebec (province)93 (down)202574about 1 in 393852020
British Columbia (province)44 (up)202355about 1 in 237952018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)12 (up)2025280132020
Victoria (state)6 (down)202532852020
Queensland (state)9 (up)2025236112020
South Australia (state)7 (down)20257862020
New Zealand7202515672020
Western Europe
France51 (up)20251,0501 in 288822020
Netherlands121 (up)2025140about 1 in 4751742020
Central Europe
Austria412 (up)2025121 in 3,1725052020
Switzerland167 (up)2025461 in 7832312020
Berlin (city)129 (down)202327about 1 in 5741262018
Munich (city)82 (up)202514about 1 in 3121732020
Cologne (city)40 (up)202328about 1 in 2282232018
Bonn (city)148 (up)20254about 1 in 7922422020
Leipzig (city)93 (down)20256about 1 in 479802020
Rostock (city)47 (up)20254about 1 in 262832020
Nordic countries
Norway210 (up)2025201 in 1,1642242020
Sweden16 (down)2025416about 1 in 104142020
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
Italy2,061 (new in the list)202431 in 63,119Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland445 (down)202551 in 25,2814042020
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

Charlie started as the friendly short form of Charles and is now often given as a full name. Charles travelled through French and the Latin Carolus from the Germanic Karl, which means "free man", so Charlie carries that meaning too.

2 more paragraphs

The sound is CHAR-lee, two light syllables ending in a bright -ee. Charley, Charly and Charli are other spellings, and the wider Charles family gives Chas and Chuck.

It is a top-10 name in Northern Ireland, Victoria and South Australia, and it has made a home in Sweden as well. It is rising in more places than it is falling, and in France it is at its most popular right now. Charlie is also used for girls, as a pet form of Charlotte or Charlene, and a noticeable minority of the children who carry it are girls.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
CHAR-lee · 2 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 2.
Meaning
“free man”
Origin
English and Germanic
Related names
Charly, Charles, Kalle, Charley, Charli, Chas, Chuck, Carlito, Karo
Also a girl's name
Across the regions we track, 23% of babies named Charlie are girls.
Where Charlie comes from (Wiktionary)

Diminutive of Charles, also used as a formal given name. Charles comes via French and Latin Carolus from Germanic Karl, Proto-Germanic *karilaz "free man". Also a female diminutive of Charlotte or Charlene.

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

Charlie over time

Rising in 9 of the 24 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 4. Peak in France: 2025.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Charlie in England and Wales: #38 in 1996, a peak of #4 in 2012, and #22 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #38, 1,912 boys1997: #40, 2,161 boys1998: #35, 2,401 boys1999: #32, 2,350 boys2000: #33, 2,355 boys2001: #32, 2,250 boys2002: #29, 2,585 boys2003: #24, 2,936 boys2004: #15, 3,666 boys2005: #12, 4,033 boys2006: #10, 4,734 boys2007: #7, 5,194 boys2008: #7, 5,291 boys2009: #7, 5,409 boys2010: #5, 5,410 boys2011: #5, 5,516 boys2012: #4, 5,571 boys2013: #5, 5,039 boys2014: #5, 4,642 boys2015: #6, 4,831 boys2016: #7, 4,190 boys2017: #9, 3,724 boys2018: #10, 3,365 boys2019: #9, 3,355 boys2020: #12, 2,810 boys2021: #14, 2,674 boys2022: #16, 2,391 boys2023: #17, 2,010 boys2024: #17, 1,956 boys2025: #22, 1,679 boys#38 in 1996peak #4, 2012#22in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996381,912
1997402,161
1998352,401
1999322,350
2000332,355
2001322,250
2002292,585
2003242,936
2004153,666
2005124,033
2006104,734
200775,194
200875,291
200975,409
201055,410
201155,516
201245,571
201355,039
201454,642
201564,831
201674,190
201793,724
2018103,365
201993,355
2020122,810
2021142,674
2022162,391
2023172,010
2024171,956
2025221,679

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in France

Half of the boys named Charlie in France since 1925 were born in or after 2013. Peak: 2025, about 347 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 1 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 1.9 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 3.5 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 4.4 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 6.9 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 7.2 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 6.8 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 3.8 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 4.3 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 7.8 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 14.6 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 24.1 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 49.1 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 61.8 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 49 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 33.9 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 67.8 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 151.2 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 136.2 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 252.9 per 100,000 boys20202025: 346.9 per 100,000 boys20252025: about 1 in 288 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19291
1930–19341.9
1935–19393.5
1940–19444.4
1945–19496.9
1950–19547.2
1955–19596.8
1960–19643.8
1965–19694.3
1970–19747.8
1975–197914.6
1980–198424.1
1985–198949.1
1990–199461.8
1995–199949
2000–200433.9
2005–200967.8
2010–2014151.2
2015–2019136.2
2020–2024252.9
2025346.9

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 Charlie

Brother names

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

  1. 1 in 196, Scotland

  2. 1 in 731, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 118, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 97, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 153, Northern Ireland

  6. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 85, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 104, Northern Ireland

  9. 1 in 164, England and Wales

  10. 1 in 202, Northern Ireland

All 40 brother names for Charlie

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Charlie's 2 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 50, Ireland

  2. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  3. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 62, Poland

  5. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 88, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 137, Scotland

  8. 1 in 224, Northern Ireland

Full-name check

Charlie Jack

Syllables 2-1Initials C.J.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Charlie

Sisters for Charlie: Ava, Lily, Ivy, and 5 more
  1. AvaRose and fell with Charlie · Same generation as Charlie
  2. LilyRose and fell with Charlie · Same generation as Charlie
  3. IvyRose and fell with Charlie · Same generation as Charlie
  4. SiennaRose and fell with Charlie · Same generation as Charlie
  5. WillowRose and fell with Charlie · Same generation as Charlie
  6. MatildaRose and fell with Charlie · Same generation as Charlie
  7. GraceRose and fell with Charlie · As common as Charlie
  8. AmeliaRose and fell with Charlie · Same generation as Charlie

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

Moved with Charlie

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

  1. Common in France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and 14 more places.

  2. Common across France, the UK, three Canadian provinces, and 8 more places.

  3. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 11 more places.

  4. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 16 more places.

  5. Common across the UK, Sweden, Austria, and 10 more places.

  6. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

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

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

Famous people named Charlie

Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Parker, 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 Charlie

How popular is Charlie in Northern Ireland?

Charlie ranked #4 in Northern Ireland in 2025, given to 123 boys, about 1 in 67.

Is Charlie rising in popularity?

In some places: it is rising in more of them than it is falling. Rising in 9 of the 24 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 4. Rising in: British Columbia, Cologne, Munich, Bonn, Austria, and 4 other regions.

What does Charlie mean?

Charlie means “free man”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Charlie have?

Charlie has 2 syllables: CHAR-lee.

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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