girls' name ★ peaked 1975

Charity

Meaning From charity in the Biblical sense of Christian love Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,981 Trend ↓ Falling 38%

From charity in the Biblical sense of Christian love; first used by Puritans.

Rank 2025
#1,981
among girls · ↑62 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
97
named Charity · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 16,570
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1975
1,428 babies
All-time total
35,557
#740 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Charity popularity over time

35,557 babies have been named Charity since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 323 – 323 32 – #290
1890s 400 – 400 40 +24% #351
1900s 416 – 416 42 +4% #466
1910s 658 – 658 66 +58% #626
1920s 573 – 573 57 -13% #908
1930s 385 – 385 39 -33% #1,017
1940s 456 – 456 46 +18% #1,119
1950s 519 – 519 52 +14% #1,241
1960s 1,036 – 1,036 104 +100% #653
1970s 9,718 23 9,741 974 +840% #183
1980s 8,212 16 8,228 823 -16% #243
1990s 4,980 – 4,980 498 -39% #455
2000s 4,752 – 4,752 475 -5% #456
2010s 2,383 – 2,383 238 -50% #848
2020s (to 2025) 707 – 707 118 -51% #1,479

Where Charity is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 89 0.06 outside top 500
2027 83 0.05 outside top 500
2028 79 0.05 outside top 500
2029 75 0.05 outside top 500
2030 72 0.04 outside top 500

Where Charity is most popular

Girls named Charity per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.069 per 1,000. Strongest in Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Charity born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Missouri 17 0.141 +104%
Kentucky 12 0.140 +103%
Tennessee 18 0.114 +64%
Georgia 25 0.110 +59%
Michigan 20 0.110 +59%
Wisconsin 10 0.097 +40%
Alabama 8 0.085 +23%
North Carolina 19 0.083 +20%
Virginia 14 0.082 +19%
Utah 6 0.072 ≈ national
Texas 54 0.067 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 15 0.063 -8%
Florida 24 0.056 -19%
Minnesota 6 0.056 -20%
Indiana 5 0.036 -49%
Ohio 7 0.030 -57%
Illinois 6 0.026 -62%
New York 7 0.018 -74%
California 11 0.013 -81%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Charity

Charity is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,981 in 2025 with 97 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 35,557 American babies have been named Charity. Its peak came in 1975, when 1,428 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1970s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Charity stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Charity?

The median living Charity is about 40 years old; half are between 26 and 48. An estimated 32 thousand people named Charity are alive in the United States today.

median 40 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Charity year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 97 #1,981 – –
2024 95 #2,043 – –
2023 118 #1,741 – –
2022 118 #1,758 – –
2021 134 #1,570 – –
2020 145 #1,479 – –
2019 184 #1,261 – –
2018 189 #1,234 – –
2017 197 #1,221 – –
2016 197 #1,237 – –
2015 206 #1,209 – –
2014 247 #1,052 – –
2013 261 #965 – –
2012 277 #926 – –
2011 310 #848 – –
2010 315 #851 – –
2009 316 #872 – –
2008 369 #790 – –
2007 439 #670 – –
2006 435 #664 – –
2005 424 #655 – –
2004 508 #564 – –
2003 535 #529 – –
2002 544 #506 – –
2001 574 #486 – –
2000 608 #456 – –
1995 495 #495 – –
1990 536 #458 – –
1985 912 #274 5 #6,687
1980 1,061 #243 – –
1975 1,420 #183 8 #4,004
1970 343 #546 – –
1965 86 #1,148 – –
1960 70 #1,313 – –
1955 44 #1,542 – –
1950 55 #1,241 – –
1945 36 #1,334 – –
1940 42 #1,119 – –
1935 46 #1,018 – –
1930 41 #1,163 – –
1925 62 #946 – –
1920 63 #915 – –
1915 75 #762 – –
1910 44 #641 – –
1905 46 #499 – –
1900 44 #509 – –
1895 40 #458 – –
1890 53 #351 – –
1885 21 #459 – –
1880 29 #290 – –

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Charity, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Charity?

The median living Charity is about 40 years old. Half of all living Charitys are between 26 and 48 years old.

How many people named Charity are alive today?

An estimated 32 thousand people named Charity are alive in the United States, based on 35,557 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Charity mean?

From charity in the Biblical sense of Christian love; first used by Puritans.

How popular is the name Charity in 2025?

Charity ranked #1,981 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 97 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Charity?

35,557 babies have been named Charity in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Charity most popular?

Charity peaked in 1975, when 1,428 newborns received the name.

Is Charity a boy or girl name?

Charity is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Charity rising or falling?

Charity is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Charity become more popular?

Charity is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 72 girls named Charity in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Charity

Names that sound and feel close to Charity: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Charity with similar names → More names starting with C →