NamelingSwipe names

Charlie

Gender
Mostly boys
Say it
CHAR-lee
Origin
Germanic
UK rank, 2025
#18 for boys
US rank, 2025
#133 for girls
Style
Classic

Charlie is a name of Germanic origin, meaning “free man”. In 2025 it ranked 18th for boys in the UK (1,969 babies) and 133rd for girls in the US (2,160 babies).

What does Charlie mean?

Germanic: pet form of Charles

“free man”

A pet form of Charles long used in its own right, and for girls as a short form of Charlotte.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Charlie a girl's or a boy's name?

In recent years, Charlie has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys. In 2025, it was given to 63 girls and 1,969 boys in the UK and 2,160 girls and 2,460 boys in the US.

How popular is Charlie in the UK?

Rank in 2025
18th among boys
Babies in 2025
1,969 about 1 in 150 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 40% in five years
Same name in a class
8.8% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 1,969 boys in the UK were named Charlie, making it the 18th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 11th. Its busiest year was 2012, with 6,097 boys. 63 girls were also named Charlie in 2025 (655th for girls).

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 6 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Charlie than any year since 1996.

Half of all the boys named Charlie in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

Among boys in 2025, it was 22nd in England and Wales, 16th in Scotland and 4th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1994 (#59), 2004 (#15), 2014 (#5) and 2024 (#17).

1996Busiest: 6,097 in 20122025
Charlie in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
20251,969#18
20242,221#17
20232,284#18
20222,748#14
20213,049#12
20203,215#11
20193,831#8
20183,818#8
20174,166#8
20164,691#7
20155,386#4
20145,186#5
20135,559#4
20126,097#4
20116,016#4
20105,879#4
20095,852#6
20085,699#9
20075,562#8
20065,054#10
20054,282#14
20043,839#17
20033,076#28
20022,685#30
20012,313#34
20002,416#34
19992,413#37
19982,475#38
19972,211#40
19961,940#43

How popular is Charlie in the US?

Rank in 2025
133rd among girls
Babies in 2025
2,160 about 1 in 740 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 6% in five years
Same name in a class
1.9% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 2,160 girls in the US were named Charlie, making it the 133rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 122nd. Its busiest year was 2022, with 2,341 girls. It first appears in the records in 1881. 2,460 boys were also named Charlie in 2025 (145th for boys).

Half of all the girls named Charlie in the US since 1880 were born between 2002 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 4,266 girls in the US were given Charlie or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #63, up from #133 for this spelling alone.

Girls were under 1% of the babies named Charlie in the US in 1881, and 47% in 2025.

1881Busiest: 2,341 in 20222025
Charlie in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20252,160#133
20242,113#140
20232,245#125
20222,341#123
20212,223#127
20202,239#122
20192,087#132
20181,851#153
20171,913#155
20161,767#185
20151,562#207
20141,439#230
20131,327#241
20121,045#306
2011856#375
2010672#459
2009490#617
2008406#736
2007367#784
2006355#777
2005257#958
2004223#1,038
2003175#1,211
2002170#1,196
2001138#1,377
2000129#1,423
1999136#1,319
1998132#1,328
1997135#1,289
1996137#1,267
1995118#1,389
1994111#1,430
1993104#1,505
199292#1,639
1991131#1,273
1990120#1,330
198986#1,611
1988121#1,229
1987109#1,280
1986108#1,254
198579#1,535
198474#1,535
198343#2,235
198257#1,873
198161#1,809
198071#1,624
197971#1,596
197862#1,690
197781#1,380
197659#1,662
197525#2,881
197419#3,426
197320#3,232
197210#5,108
197112#4,532
197021#3,110
196924#2,704
196825#2,482
196732#2,079
196631#2,093
196528#2,246
196433#2,070
196343#1,753
196241#1,781
196144#1,719
196045#1,672
195951#1,515
195855#1,434
195772#1,237
195674#1,209
195571#1,185
195483#1,075
195380#1,077
195283#1,027
1951102#901
1950102#875
1949115#812
1948113#815
1947117#807
1946113#771
1945111#707
1944131#643
1943148#621
1942118#686
1941111#669
1940134#602
1939136#575
1938140#580
1937161#519
1936130#578
1935128#565
1934135#554
1933161#502
1932160#515
1931161#514
1930179#498
1929185#495
1928188#502
1927201#493
1926200#493
1925182#529
1924175#551
1923183#519
1922181#520
1921139#625
1920197#491
1919199#472
1918178#516
1917151#546
1916119#619
1915126#576
1914101#557
191376#587
191279#550
191144#650
191065#503
190939#624
190843#567
190743#554
190628#689
190539#556
190428#653
190337#527
190235#545
190128#591
190027#688
189933#514
189823#679
189723#644
189614#872
189517#770
189417#719
189310#955
189219#666
189116#669
189012#791
188911#802
188813#724
188711#693
188611#693
18859#745
18847#851
188310#615
18826#813
18815#830

Names like Charlie

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Archie, Harry, Louie, Henry, Freddie, Leo, William, Reuben, Ollie, Oliver, Oscar, Ellis

Other spellings of Charlie

Charley, Charlee, Charli, Charleigh, Charly, Charlii, Charlea, Charliee

Names related to Charlie

Coralie, Carlie, Carley, Carlee, Carli

More Germanic names

Amelia, Liam, Charlotte, Emma, Ella, Millie, Albie, Matilda, Miles, Alice, Myles, Charles, Lottie, Avery, Reggie, Ada

Every Germanic name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and 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, “Charlie: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/charlie, updated 20 October 2026.