Head to head · Boys' names
Charlie vs Matteo
#145 vs #146 in 2025
Charlie is a whisker ahead (#145 vs #146 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Charlie is back after a long quiet spell, Matteo is climbing the charts fast.
Cast your vote
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, Charlie leads 6 measures of 6; Matteo leads 0.
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: Charlie #23, Matteo — — Charlie higher
- 1890s: Charlie #29, Matteo — — Charlie higher
- 1900s: Charlie #33, Matteo — — Charlie higher
- 1910s: Charlie #61, Matteo #2053 — Charlie higher
- 1920s: Charlie #78, Matteo #2063 — Charlie higher
- 1930s: Charlie #101, Matteo #2870 — Charlie higher
- 1940s: Charlie #128, Matteo #2862 — Charlie higher
- 1950s: Charlie #178, Matteo #3824 — Charlie higher
- 1960s: Charlie #239, Matteo #2978 — Charlie higher
- 1970s: Charlie #298, Matteo #3121 — Charlie higher
- 1980s: Charlie #353, Matteo #2891 — Charlie higher
- 1990s: Charlie #453, Matteo #1873 — Charlie higher
- 2000s: Charlie #360, Matteo #696 — Charlie higher
- 2010s: Charlie #227, Matteo #290 — Charlie higher
- 2020s: Charlie #178, Matteo #158 — Matteo higher
Charlie stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Matteo took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Charlie | Matteo |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #23 | — |
| 1890s | #29 | — |
| 1900s | #33 | — |
| 1910s | #61 | #2053 |
| 1920s | #78 | #2063 |
| 1930s | #101 | #2870 |
| 1940s | #128 | #2862 |
| 1950s | #178 | #3824 |
| 1960s | #239 | #2978 |
| 1970s | #298 | #3121 |
| 1980s | #353 | #2891 |
| 1990s | #453 | #1873 |
| 2000s | #360 | #696 |
| 2010s | #227 | #290 |
| 2020s | #178 | #158 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Charlie
- Scotland#16
- England & Wales#17
- France#51
- Canada#63
Matteo
- Canada#61
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Charlie
free man
Charlie is a pet form of Charles, from the Germanic name Karl, whose root word meant a man, and specifically a free man rather than a servant. For girls the same meaning arrives by way of Charlotte, the feminine form built on Charles.
Karl → Carolus → Charles → Charlotte → Charlie
How it traveled
The parent name is Germanic Karl, carried into Latin as Carolus and into French as Charles, where it was the name of Charlemagne — Charles the Great — in the eighth and ninth centuries, and afterwards of a long line of French and English kings. Charlie appears as the affectionate English and Scots short form, most famously attached to Charles Edward Stuart, the eighteenth-century claimant remembered in song as Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Matteo
Gift of God
From the Hebrew name Mattityahu, built from a root meaning 'gift' plus a form of the divine name.
Mattityahu → Matthaios → Matthaeus → Matteo
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Mattityahu, 'gift of Yahweh'. Greek-speaking Jews shortened it to Matthaios, the form attached to the first Gospel and to the apostle it is named for, and Latin turned that into Matthaeus.
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
Charlie
CHAR-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first, the same in American and British English. Non-English speakers may render the opening as SHAR-, since French Charles begins with that sound.
- Charlie — Already the short form of Charles and Charlotte, and long established as a full given name in its own right — most Charlies need no further shortening.
- Char — Informal clipping used within families; more common where the full legal name is Charlotte.
- Chas — An older written abbreviation of Charles that still gets used aloud, chiefly by and for men of earlier generations.
- Chuck — An American informal form of Charles rather than of Charlie; mostly heard among older men.
- Also Charlie-girl.
Matteo
mah-TAY-oh
Stress on the middle syllable, with the double t given a crisp Italian tap. English speakers often say mat-TAY-oh, which passes without trouble.
- Matt — The everyday English short form; also long established as a given name on its own.
- Teo — Clips the front instead of the back; stands alone as a given name in Italy, Spain and much of Latin America.
- Matty — Informal and affectionate, common in childhood and in English-speaking families.
- Matte — Heard in Italian-speaking households as a casual clip.
Who has carried each name
Charlie
Charlie Chaplin (b. 1889) — The Tramp — cinema's first global icon
Charlie Parker (b. 1920) — "Bird" — the genius of bebop jazz
Charlie Puth (b. 1991) — "See You Again" pop hitmaker
Matteo
Matteo Ricci (b. 1552) — Missionary-scholar who bridged Renaissance Europe and imperial China
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 Charlie if you want…
- a name on the way upup 59 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesCharlie is 2 syllables to Matteo's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooCharlie is on the national lists of Scotland, England & Wales, France and Canada
- a long American recordCharlie was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Matteo if you want…
- a name with more sound in itMatteo runs 3 syllables, Charlie 2
- a newer arrivalMatteo entered the US charts in 1911
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
Charlie
Strengths
- Needs no spelling or pronunciation help in English, and is recognized in France, Canada, Scotland and England & Wales alike.
- Already a nickname, so there is no pressure to shorten it — and Charles or Charlotte can sit on the birth certificate if a formal option is wanted.
- On the US charts continuously since record-keeping began, and currently climbing again rather than fading.
To consider
- The boy–girl split is close to even now, so people who have not met your child may guess wrong from the name alone. That cuts both ways and is worth expecting rather than fearing.
- Charley, Charli, Charlee and Charly all exist, so you will sometimes be asked which spelling — a short correction, but a lifelong one.
- It reads as a diminutive to some ears, which matters more on a résumé than in a classroom; Charles and Charlotte remain the formal doors back in.
Matteo
Strengths
- Two ready-made short forms pulling in opposite directions: Matt, thoroughly familiar in English, and Teo, which works across Italian and Spanish.
- The same name as Matthew, so it has a documented line running back to Hebrew and an unbroken record of use for two thousand years.
- Recognizable in Italian, Spanish, French, German, Polish and Hungarian, each with its own local form.
To consider
- Mateo, with one t, is the more common spelling in the US by a wide margin. Expect to correct the second t regularly, and to be asked which one you meant.
- Matt is the most likely nickname in an English-speaking school, which lands somewhere quite different in sound and register from Matteo. Some families love that flexibility; others find it undoes the name.
- The American wave is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it here is a child. That will change as they grow, but for now the name reads young.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Charlie
30%chance Charlie feels dated by 2040
Charlie is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Matteo
49%chance Matteo feels dated by 2040
Matteo 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 Charlie and Matteo 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
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Charlie and Matteo?
Put both to the vote.
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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 Charlie and Matteo — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Charlie or Matteo — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Charlie or Matteo?
- Charlie, in 2025: Charlie ranked #145 with 2,460 babies; Matteo ranked #146 with 2,455 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Charlie or Matteo?
- Charlie. Over the last five years Charlie moved up 59 places; Matteo moved up 27 places.
- Which is the older name, Charlie or Matteo?
- Charlie was already in use when US records began in 1880; Matteo entered the US charts in 1911. On the American record, Charlie is the older name.
- How many people are named Charlie and Matteo?
- About 84,500 people named Charlie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 33,000 people named Matteo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Charlies or Matteos in the classroom?
- Charlie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Matteo 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
Keep playing
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