Charlie
A pet form of Charles, Germanic karl, “free man”; now given to girls as often as boys.
Popularity, 1880–2025
Charlie appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1880 to 1935. Its biggest year was 1919, when 2,891 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 66 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1881, at No. 20. In 2025 it ranked No. 145 for boys. The name has also seen real use for girls: 40,359 of the 224,639 Americans given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Charley (35,321), Charlee (19,749), Charli (11,838), Charleigh (9,455), Charly (3,833) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Charles
Explore Charlie interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 7,091 | No. 20 |
| 1890s | 7,261 | No. 21 |
| 1900s | 7,928 | No. 25 |
| 1910s | 19,834 | No. 34 |
| 1920s | 25,176 | No. 70 |
| 1930s | 19,154 | No. 90 |
| 1940s | 18,264 | No. 111 |
| 1950s | 15,282 | No. 151 |
| 1960s | 10,041 | No. 220 |
| 1970s | 6,365 | No. 273 |
| 1980s | 5,465 | No. 308 |
| 1990s | 4,913 | No. 422 |
| 2000s | 8,367 | No. 274 |
| 2010s | 16,490 | No. 211 |
| 2020s | 12,649 | No. 145 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.