How Many People Are Named Charles?
people named Charles are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 284 people in the US has this name
Based on 2,447,135 babies named Charles in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
⭐⭐⭐ Very Common
Peak Year
40,919 births
Trend
Declining (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word meaning "man". However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic name element hari meaning "army, warrior".
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Of the babies given the name Charles, 0.5% were girls and 99.5% were boys.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Charles alive today is about 54 years old, and 49% are 60 or older. Half of them were between 38 and 72 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Charles first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1947, to 40,919 babies. In 2025, 5,908 babies got the name. Over the last ten years, the number each year has been falling.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Charles reached #4 among boys' names in 1880 and 1883, and was in the top 10 for 75 years, 1880 to 1954. In 2025 it ranked #48.
| Boys | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #48 |
| Best rank | #4 (1880 and 1883) |
| Years in the top 10 | 75 |
| Years in the top 100 | 146 (1880 to 2025) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #7 in the 1940s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Charles alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Charles were born in California than in any other state: about 77,029 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Charles was given 1.6 times as often in Maryland, 1.6 times in West Virginia and 1.5 times in Delaware.
Look up another name
⊙ We don't save the names you search.