Unisex name ★ peaked 2025

Charlie

Meaning A unisex given name Gender Unisex · 18% girls Rank 2025 #145 Trend ↑ Rising 27%

A unisex given name. A diminutive of the male given name Charles; also used as a formal given name.

Rank 2025
#145
among boys · ↑31 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
4,620
named Charlie · +10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 694
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
4,620 babies
All-time total
224,639
#199 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Charlie popularity over time

224,639 babies have been named Charlie 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
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 83 7,091 7,174 717 – #20
1890s 184 7,261 7,445 745 +4% #21
1900s 347 7,928 8,275 828 +11% #25
1910s 1,138 19,834 20,972 2,097 +153% #34
1920s 1,831 25,176 27,007 2,701 +29% #70
1930s 1,491 19,154 20,645 2,065 -24% #90
1940s 1,211 18,264 19,475 1,948 -6% #111
1950s 773 15,282 16,055 1,606 -18% #151
1960s 346 10,041 10,387 1,039 -35% #220
1970s 380 6,365 6,745 675 -35% #273
1980s 809 5,465 6,274 627 -7% #308
1990s 1,216 4,913 6,129 613 -2% #423
2000s 2,710 8,367 11,077 1,108 +81% #274
2010s 14,519 16,490 31,009 3,101 +180% #211
2020s (to 2025) 13,321 12,649 25,970 4,328 +40% #145

Where Charlie is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 2,567 1.50 #140
2027 2,661 1.56 #137
2028 2,744 1.61 #131
2029 2,816 1.65 #129
2030 2,879 1.69 #125

Where Charlie is most popular

Boys named Charlie per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.25 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, Alaska, and Maine.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Charlie 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Vermont 36 5.73 +359%
Alaska 41 3.44 +176%
Maine 64 3.30 +164%
North Dakota 52 3.05 +144%
Minnesota 368 3.00 +140%
Wyoming 17 2.94 +136%
Utah 274 2.87 +130%
New Hampshire 63 2.84 +127%
South Dakota 50 2.69 +115%
District of Columbia 38 2.57 +106%
Wisconsin 303 2.56 +105%
Massachusetts 344 2.50 +100%
Iowa 166 2.41 +93%
Montana 41 2.32 +86%
Nebraska 93 2.14 +71%
Connecticut 144 2.13 +70%
Oregon 161 2.12 +70%
Idaho 85 2.08 +66%
Mississippi 108 1.90 +52%
Colorado 231 1.79 +43%
Alabama 194 1.77 +42%
Missouri 239 1.72 +38%
Oklahoma 150 1.70 +36%
Kansas 115 1.68 +34%
Tennessee 298 1.65 +32%
Michigan 335 1.64 +31%
Kentucky 164 1.63 +31%
Washington 262 1.60 +28%
Illinois 405 1.58 +27%
Georgia 401 1.58 +27%
West Virginia 51 1.56 +25%
South Carolina 160 1.55 +24%
North Carolina 392 1.54 +23%
Rhode Island 25 1.53 +23%
Arkansas 93 1.47 +18%
Indiana 226 1.41 +13%
Louisiana 137 1.34 +7%
Ohio 346 1.31 +5%
New York 561 1.30 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 331 1.25 ≈ national
Maryland 141 1.18 -5%
Arizona 190 1.16 -7%
Hawaii 18 1.16 -7%
Virginia 216 1.14 -9%
New Jersey 224 1.11 -11%
Nevada 62 1.09 -13%
California 994 1.09 -13%
New Mexico 34 1.03 -17%
Florida 476 1.01 -19%
Texas 813 0.923 -26%
Delaware 11 0.725 -42%

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 Charlie

Charlie is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #145 in 2025 with 2,460 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 224,639 American babies have been named Charlie, about 82% boys and 18% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 4,620 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Charlie stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Charlie?

The median living Charlie is about 18 years old; half are between 7 and 61. An estimated 120 thousand people named Charlie are alive in the United States today.

median 18 020406080100

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

Charlie 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 2,160 #133 2,460 #145
2024 2,113 #140 2,094 #176
2023 2,245 #125 2,104 #174
2022 2,341 #123 2,110 #178
2021 2,223 #127 2,009 #188
2020 2,239 #122 1,872 #204
2019 2,087 #132 1,832 #211
2018 1,851 #153 1,730 #218
2017 1,913 #155 1,793 #213
2016 1,767 #185 1,711 #227
2015 1,562 #207 1,674 #231
2014 1,439 #230 1,696 #225
2013 1,327 #241 1,565 #233
2012 1,045 #306 1,537 #233
2011 856 #375 1,521 #236
2010 672 #459 1,431 #245
2009 490 #617 1,255 #274
2008 406 #736 1,090 #306
2007 367 #786 956 #334
2006 355 #777 931 #337
2005 257 #959 934 #329
2004 223 #1,038 812 #350
2003 175 #1,213 709 #368
2002 170 #1,199 599 #416
2001 138 #1,379 553 #439
2000 129 #1,427 528 #450
1995 118 #1,393 510 #447
1990 120 #1,334 537 #423
1985 79 #1,536 549 #343
1980 71 #1,624 596 #322
1975 25 #2,891 565 #315
1970 21 #3,124 768 #273
1965 28 #2,255 964 #236
1960 45 #1,673 1,247 #221
1955 71 #1,187 1,437 #184
1950 102 #877 1,678 #151
1945 111 #708 1,725 #128
1940 134 #602 1,762 #111
1935 128 #565 1,926 #100
1930 179 #498 2,113 #91
1925 182 #529 2,578 #78
1920 197 #491 2,785 #70
1915 126 #576 2,193 #75
1910 65 #504 1,107 #34
1905 39 #557 801 #34
1900 27 #691 1,124 #25
1895 17 #775 767 #27
1890 12 #794 797 #21
1885 9 #753 705 #23
1880 – – 730 #21

Famous people named Charlie

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Charlie Sheen Charlie Sheen American film and television actor (born 1965) Contemporary
  2. 2 Charlie Hunnam Charlie Hunnam British actor (born 1980) Contemporary
  3. 3 Charlie Heaton Charlie Heaton English actor (born 1994) Contemporary
  4. 4 Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin English actor and filmmaker (1889–1977) 19th century
  5. 5 Charlie Puth Charlie Puth American singer-songwriter (born 1991) Contemporary
  6. 6 Charlie Cox Charlie Cox British actor (born 1982) Contemporary
  7. 7 Charlie Munger Charlie Munger American businessman (1924–2023) Contemporary
  8. 8 Charlie Kaufman Charlie Kaufman American filmmaker and novelist b. 1958 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Charlie Watts Charlie Watts British drummer (1941–2021) Contemporary
  10. 10 Charlie Parker Charlie Parker American jazz saxophonist (1920–1955) Contemporary
  11. 11 Charlie Rose Charlie Rose American TV interviewer and journalist (born 1942) Contemporary
  12. 12 Charlie Daniels Charlie Daniels American musician and songwriter (1936–2020) Contemporary
  13. 13 Charlie Wilson Charlie Wilson American politician (1933–2010) Contemporary
  14. 14 Charlie Baker Charlie Baker American politician (born 1956) Contemporary
  15. 15 Charlie Haden Charlie Haden American musician and educator (1937–2014) Contemporary
  16. 16 Charlie Weber American actor and former model (born 1978) Contemporary
  17. 17 Charlie Benante Charlie Benante American drummer (born 1962) Contemporary
  18. 18 Charlie Ruggles Charlie Ruggles American actor (1886–1970) 19th century
  19. 19 Charlie Christian Charlie Christian American swing and jazz guitarist (1916–1942) Contemporary
  20. 20 Charlie Barnet Charlie Barnet American jazz saxophonist, composer & bandleader (1913–1991) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Charlie?

The median living Charlie is about 18 years old. Half of all living Charlies are between 7 and 61 years old.

How many people named Charlie are alive today?

An estimated 120 thousand people named Charlie are alive in the United States, based on 224,639 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Charlie mean?

A unisex given name. A diminutive of the male given name Charles; also used as a formal given name.

How popular is the name Charlie in 2025?

Charlie ranked #145 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,460 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Charlie?

224,639 babies have been named Charlie in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Charlie most popular?

Charlie peaked in 2025, when 4,620 newborns received the name.

Is Charlie a boy or girl name?

Charlie is used for both: about 18% of babies named Charlie have been girls and 82% boys.

Is the name Charlie rising or falling?

Charlie is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Charlie become more popular?

Charlie is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,879 boys named Charlie in 2030, which would rank around #125. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Charlie?

Well-known people named Charlie include Charlie Sheen (actor), Charlie Hunnam (actor), Charlie Heaton (actor).

Names like Charlie

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

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