Head to head · Boys' names
Charles vs Thiago
#48 vs #50 in 2025
Charles is a whisker ahead (#48 vs #50 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Charles is holding its place on the charts, Thiago is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Thiago has the edge.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Charles leads 5 measures of 6; Thiago leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Charles #5, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1890s: Charles #5, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1900s: Charles #6, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1910s: Charles #7, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1920s: Charles #5, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1930s: Charles #6, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1940s: Charles #8, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1950s: Charles #10, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1960s: Charles #17, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1970s: Charles #24, Thiago — — Charles higher
- 1980s: Charles #33, Thiago #4895 — Charles higher
- 1990s: Charles #44, Thiago #5415 — Charles higher
- 2000s: Charles #58, Thiago #2442 — Charles higher
- 2010s: Charles #55, Thiago #502 — Charles higher
- 2020s: Charles #50, Thiago #99 — Charles higher
Charles stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Charles | Thiago |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #5 | — |
| 1890s | #5 | — |
| 1900s | #6 | — |
| 1910s | #7 | — |
| 1920s | #5 | — |
| 1930s | #6 | — |
| 1940s | #8 | — |
| 1950s | #10 | — |
| 1960s | #17 | — |
| 1970s | #24 | — |
| 1980s | #33 | #4895 |
| 1990s | #44 | #5415 |
| 2000s | #58 | #2442 |
| 2010s | #55 | #502 |
| 2020s | #50 | #99 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Charles
- Canada#30
- France#52
Thiago
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Charles
Free man
From Germanic karl, 'free man' — a man who was neither noble nor serf. The same root gave English 'churl', which drifted toward insult while Charles went the other way entirely.
Karl → Carolus → Charles → Charlie → Charlotte
How it traveled
The Germanic name Karl was carried by the Frankish ruler known to history as Charlemagne, whose reign around the turn of the ninth century fixed the name in European royalty for a thousand years. Through Old French it became Charles, and it entered England properly with the Stuart kings in the seventeenth century, after which it spread widely among English speakers.
Thiago
Ultimately from Hebrew Ya'aqov (Jacob), reached by way of "Saint James"
The immediate sense is straightforward: Thiago comes from Santiago, "Saint James." The older layer is where scholars divide. Ya'aqov has long been tied to Hebrew 'aqev, "heel" — the Genesis account has Jacob born gripping his twin's heel, which gives the traditional gloss "supplanter." Others read it as a shortened theophoric name, "may God protect." Both readings are seriously held.
Ya'aqov → Iakobos → Iacobus → Santiago / Tiago → Thiago
How it traveled
The name traveled a long road before it reached this spelling. Hebrew Ya'aqov became Iakobos in the Greek of the New Testament, then Iacobus in Latin, and from there splintered across Europe into James, Jacques, Giacomo and Jacob.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Charles
CHARLZ
One syllable in English. The French Charles is roughly SHARL, which is worth knowing if the name has family roots there.
- Charlie — The most widespread short form, and long established as an independent given name for boys and girls alike.
- Chuck — An American informal form, strongest among men born in the middle of the twentieth century.
- Chas — A clipped written form, often used as a signature or in casual address.
- Carl — Related through the Germanic root; used as a standalone name more often than as a nickname.
- Also Chip.
Thiago
tee-AH-go
Brazilian Portuguese softens the opening consonant to something closer to chee-AH-go; Spanish and English speakers generally say tee-AH-go. The h is silent in every version. Stress stays on the middle syllable throughout.
- Thi — The everyday clipped form in Brazilian Portuguese; informal, used by family and friends.
- Thiaguinho — The Portuguese diminutive in -inho, affectionate and informal; also carried as a stage name by Brazilian performers.
- Tiago — The standard Portuguese spelling, sometimes used as the casual form of Thiago and also a full given name in its own right.
- T — A single-initial nickname common on sports rosters and in American classrooms.
Who has carried each name
Charles
Charles Darwin (b. 1809) — On the Origin of Species changed science forever
Charles Dickens (b. 1812) — Created Scrooge, Oliver Twist, and A Christmas Carol
Charles III (b. 1948) — King of the United Kingdom
Thiago
Thiago Silva (b. 1984) — Brazil's longtime captain and defensive great
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Charles if you want…
- a name holding steadyCharles is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesCharles is 1 syllable to Thiago's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooCharles is on the national lists of Canada and France
- a long American recordCharles was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Thiago if you want…
- a name on the way upup 118 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itThiago runs 3 syllables, Charles 1
- a newer arrivalThiago entered the US charts in 1986
- a name that feels very nowThiago is climbing the charts fast
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Charles
Strengths
- Universally recognized spelling in English — almost never needs to be repeated or clarified.
- Several long-established short forms, from the friendly Charlie to the brisk Chuck, so the name flexes across a lifetime.
- Direct equivalents in Spanish, German, Italian, Polish and French, which travels well in multilingual families.
To consider
- Strongly represented among older generations, so it may read as an inherited name rather than a new one — though that has not stopped it from continuing to be given.
- Charlie is now common for girls as well as boys, which means the nickname is less gender-specific than the full name.
- Chuck has a distinctly mid-century American flavor and may not be a short form you want; if so, it helps to establish Charlie early.
Thiago
Strengths
- Recognized across Portuguese, Spanish and English-speaking countries, with close relatives — Santiago, Tiago, James — in nearly every European language.
- A documented line back through Latin and Greek to Hebrew, tied to one of the best-known pilgrim destinations in Europe.
- Three syllables, stress in the middle, ending in an open vowel — it carries well when called across a room or a field.
To consider
- Two spellings are both correct in the Portuguese-speaking world — Thiago in Brazil, Tiago in Portugal. Expect the h to be dropped by people writing it from hearing it.
- The first consonant is said differently depending on who is speaking: chee- in Brazil, tee- in Spanish and English. Families often end up living with both.
- The name is climbing quickly in the US, so it will sound more familiar to a kindergarten teacher a decade from now than it does today.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Charles
12%chance Charles feels dated by 2040
Charles has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Thiago
63%chance Thiago feels dated by 2040
Thiago is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Charles and Thiago in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Charles and Thiago — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Charles or Thiago — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Charles or Thiago?
- Charles, in 2025: Charles ranked #48 with 5,898 babies; Thiago ranked #50 with 5,835 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Charles or Thiago?
- Thiago. Over the last five years Charles moved down 2 places; Thiago moved up 118 places.
- Which is the older name, Charles or Thiago?
- Charles was already in use when US records began in 1880; Thiago entered the US charts in 1986. On the American record, Charles is the older name.
- How many people are named Charles and Thiago?
- About 1,242,000 people named Charles are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 35,000 people named Thiago are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Charless or Thiagos in the classroom?
- Charles will almost certainly be the only one in school. Thiago will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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