Charleston
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- CHARLZ-ton
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #3,249 for girls
Charleston is a name of English origin, meaning “Charles's town”. In 2025 it ranked 3,249th for girls in the US (48 babies).
What does Charleston mean?
English: from Charleston, South Carolina
“Charles's town”
Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 1670, was first called Charles Town in honour of King Charles II.
Is Charleston a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Charleston has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 48 girls and 41 boys in the US.
How popular is Charleston in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,249th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 48 about 1 in 33,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 43% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 48 girls in the US were named Charleston, making it the 3,249th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,631st. Its busiest year was 2015, with 255 girls. It first appears in the records in 1997. 41 boys were also named Charleston in 2025 (2,990th for boys).
Half of all the girls named Charleston in the US since 1880 were born between 2015 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
Girls were 12% of the babies named Charleston in the US in 1997, and 54% in 2025.
Charleston in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 48 | #3,249 |
| 2024 | 46 | #3,395 |
| 2023 | 46 | #3,428 |
| 2022 | 64 | #2,689 |
| 2021 | 68 | #2,558 |
| 2020 | 64 | #2,631 |
| 2019 | 88 | #2,128 |
| 2018 | 94 | #2,059 |
| 2017 | 99 | #1,989 |
| 2016 | 156 | #1,472 |
| 2015 | 255 | #1,042 |
| 2014 | 41 | #3,717 |
| 2013 | 23 | #5,642 |
| 2012 | 26 | #5,251 |
| 2011 | 20 | #6,332 |
| 2010 | 19 | #6,638 |
| 2009 | 19 | #6,808 |
| 2008 | 11 | #10,080 |
| 2007 | 23 | #5,891 |
| 2006 | 19 | #6,590 |
| 2005 | 8 | #11,828 |
| 2004 | 11 | #9,259 |
| 2003 | 9 | #10,420 |
| 2002 | 10 | #9,476 |
| 2001 | 11 | #8,751 |
| 2000 | 5 | #15,024 |
| 1999 | 6 | #12,681 |
| 1998 | 9 | #9,254 |
| 1997 | 7 | #10,831 |
Nicknames for Charleston
- Charlie 1,969 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Charleston
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Leighton, Emerson, Harper, Peyton, Addison, Collins, Harlow, Miller, Oakley, Carter, Madisson, Clover
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel, Harrison
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Charleston: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/charleston, updated 20 October 2026.