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 1996 and has been recorded in 26 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1998 with 1,868 babies (rank #41 that year). It was not in the 2024 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

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.

31,664

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

1,868

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

Other boys' names starting with C

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1996	1,738	#44
1997	1,762	#42
1998	1,868	#41
1999	1,667	#41
2000	1,530	#44
2001	1,290	#50
2002	1,309	#48
2003	1,302	#48
2004	1,440	#49
2005	1,372	#49
2006	1,443	#50
2007	1,454	#54
2008	1,346	#56
2009	1,225	#58
2010	1,152	#62
2011	1,090	#60
2012	1,088	#62
2013	1,029	#61
2014	1,037	#63
2015	985	#66
2016	910	#72
2017	877	#73
2018	758	#81
2019	707	#86
2020	646	#88
2021	639	#91