Charles

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Charles is a male given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form Charles of the Proto-Germanic name ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ or *karilaz, whose meaning was "free man".

From Wikipedia

Charles first appears in the data in 1991 and has been recorded in 34 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 2015 with 899 babies (rank #28 that year). In 2024 it was given to 653 boys (rank #30). Its popularity has been fairly steady recently.

Numerology of Charles

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Charles yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

3Destiny numberThe creativeExpressive, sociable, lifted by playful energy.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
6Soul urgeThe carerNurturing, responsible, family at the centre.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
6PersonalityThe carerNurturing, responsible, family at the centre.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

23,884

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

899

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In The Crown: Prince Charles — eventual Charles III
In Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Charles Boyle — Jake's foodie best friend

Famous people named Charles

Charles Darwinscientific collector · b. 1809
Charles Dickensparliamentary stenographer · b. 1812
Charles de Gaullemilitary theorist · b. 1890
Charles Baudelairedraftsperson · b. 1821
Charles IIIhelicopter pilot · b. 1948

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Charles in 2024

Other boys' names starting with C

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1991	772	#63
1992	756	#62
1993	751	#61
1994	631	#60
1995	670	#61
1996	599	#64
1997	612	#64
1998	575	#67
1999	553	#68
2000	596	#57
2001	537	#69
2002	475	#72
2003	553	#66
2004	574	#64
2005	599	#60
2006	609	#61
2007	653	#56
2008	673	#57
2009	718	#46
2010	740	#44
2011	739	#41
2012	769	#42
2013	821	#35
2014	880	#29
2015	899	#28
2016	833	#31
2017	824	#27
2018	840	#26
2019	847	#27
2020	835	#24
2021	850	#25
2022	764	#26
2023	656	#27
2024	653	#30