Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2022

Charly

Meaning A unisex given name Gender Unisex · 66% girls Rank 2025 #3,262 Trend ↓ Falling 16%

A unisex given name. A diminutive of the male given name Charles, variant of Charlie.

Rank 2025
#3,262
among girls · ↓995 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
64
named Charly · -47% vs 2024
How common
1 in 33,485
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2022
141 babies
All-time total
3,833
#4,033 all-time among girls
First recorded
1884
in Social Security records

Charly popularity over time

3,833 babies have been named Charly since 1884, 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
0.020.040.060.0818801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – 10 10 1 – –
1890s – 11 11 1 +10% –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 18 18 2 – –
1920s – 5 5 1 -72% –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – 5 5 1 – –
1950s – 10 10 1 +100% –
1960s – 10 10 1 0% –
1970s 49 29 78 8 +680% #4,284
1980s 350 81 431 43 +453% #1,841
1990s 328 203 531 53 +23% #3,042
2000s 537 445 982 98 +85% #2,399
2010s 806 298 1,104 110 +12% #1,855
2020s (to 2025) 448 190 638 106 -4% #2,008

Where Charly 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 47 0.03 outside top 500
2027 46 0.03 outside top 500
2028 45 0.03 outside top 500
2029 45 0.03 outside top 500
2030 44 0.03 outside top 500

Where Charly is most popular

Girls named Charly per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.045 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, Illinois, and California.

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 Charly 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
Utah 29 0.348 +681%
Illinois 11 0.048 +8%
California 36 0.043 ≈ national
Texas 28 0.035 -22%
Ohio 7 0.030 -34%
New Jersey 5 0.028 -38%
Georgia 6 0.026 -41%
Pennsylvania 5 0.021 -53%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
New York – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
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 Charly

Charly is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #3,262 in 2025 with 48 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1884, 3,833 American babies have been named Charly, about 66% girls and 34% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2022, when 141 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 Charly stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Charly?

The median living Charly is about 17 years old; half are between 9 and 27. An estimated 3,700 people named Charly are alive in the United States today.

median 17 020406080100

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

Charly 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 48 #3,262 16 #5,652
2024 82 #2,267 38 #3,172
2023 58 #2,904 30 #3,727
2022 97 #2,008 44 #2,881
2021 77 #2,349 30 #3,664
2020 86 #2,117 32 #3,429
2019 82 #2,236 26 #4,024
2018 63 #2,718 31 #3,548
2017 67 #2,607 21 #4,624
2016 86 #2,227 21 #4,645
2015 81 #2,299 26 #4,000
2014 109 #1,855 28 #3,709
2013 71 #2,513 34 #3,197
2012 95 #2,034 32 #3,384
2011 79 #2,353 32 #3,374
2010 73 #2,518 47 #2,592
2009 70 #2,621 52 #2,457
2008 64 #2,807 39 #3,011
2007 79 #2,399 51 #2,478
2006 53 #3,144 30 #3,461
2005 68 #2,532 55 #2,187
2004 62 #2,657 58 #2,054
2003 48 #3,093 34 #2,856
2002 34 #3,826 49 #2,160
2001 34 #3,800 45 #2,251
2000 25 #4,680 32 #2,813
1995 32 #3,431 20 #3,323
1990 28 #3,731 18 #3,331
1985 48 #2,179 7 #5,232
1980 15 #4,762 7 #5,017
1975 7 #7,275 5 #5,595
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – 5 #1,106
1890 – – 6 #904
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Charly

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

  1. 1 Charly Musonda Charly Musonda Belgian footballer b. 1996 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Charly García Charly García Argentine musician (born 1951) Contemporary
  3. 3 Charly Gaul Charly Gaul Luxembourgish cyclist 1932–2005 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Charly Wegelius Charly Wegelius British cyclist b. 1978 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Charly Mottet Charly Mottet French cyclist (born 1962) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Charly?

The median living Charly is about 17 years old. Half of all living Charlys are between 9 and 27 years old.

How many people named Charly are alive today?

An estimated 3,700 people named Charly are alive in the United States, based on 3,833 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Charly mean?

A unisex given name. A diminutive of the male given name Charles, variant of Charlie.

How popular is the name Charly in 2025?

Charly ranked #3,262 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 48 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Charly?

3,833 babies have been named Charly in the United States since 1884, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Charly most popular?

Charly peaked in 2022, when 141 newborns received the name.

Is Charly a boy or girl name?

Charly is used for both: about 66% of babies named Charly have been girls and 34% boys.

Is the name Charly rising or falling?

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

Will Charly become more popular?

Charly is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 44 girls named Charly in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Charly?

Well-known people named Charly include Charly Musonda (soccer player), Charly García (musician), Charly Gaul (cyclist).

Names like Charly

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

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