Charle
Masculine · “Free man”
Charle is given to both — 929 boys and 132 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Charle is Charles with the s taken off, and the odd part is that the s was never doing any work in English to begin with. It is a piece of French grammar that English kept after French had thrown it away.
How old is the name Charle?
Charle first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Charle alive today was born around 1957, making them about 68 years old. About 600 people named Charle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Charle most popular?
Charle peaked in 1883, reaching #892 nationally. See the whole 1883 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Karl to Charle
The story of Charle
Old French had two cases left over from Latin, and the subject form of this name carried an s: Charles when it was the subject, Charle when it was not. French eventually settled on the other form and dropped the s from the spelling of most such words; English had already borrowed the subject form, s and all, and kept it. So the s on Charles is a fossil of a grammar neither language uses any more, and a spelling without it is not a mistake so much as the road not taken. The reign that made the name is still audible elsewhere: Charlemagne's name became the ordinary word for a king across the Slavic languages — král in Czech, król in Polish, kralj in Croatian — so that one man's name turned into a common noun in half of Europe.
Meaning
Free man
The Germanic word behind it meant a man, and specifically a free man rather than a noble or a slave. Karl gave Carolus in Latin, Charles in French, and the name spread across Europe on the strength of one enormous reign. The meaning has never been in doubt.
How the name formed
- Karl
- Carolus
- Charles
- Charle
Related forms: Carlos · Carlo · Karl · Carlos · Károly
Pronouncing Charle
CHARL
One syllable, exactly as Charles without the final s. In French the name is said SHARL, and that pronunciation follows some American families.
Nicknames for Charle
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1883
- Most boys named
- 196227 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #892reached in 1883
- Change vs 1995
- 0.0%5 in 2010, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Charle in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Carlos in Spanish — same name
- Carlo in Italian — same name
- Karl in German — same name
- Carlos in Portuguese — same name
- Károly in Hungarian — same name
Charles among us
people named Charle are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Charle sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The name underneath is understood in every European language, with a native form in each.
- It gives a child the friendliest short form in English without imposing it.
- Removing one letter from a very common name is about the mildest way to be distinctive.
- Every form and every teacher will add the s back, for life.
- Most children with this spelling are boys, but a real minority are girls; either may be taken for the other.
- It can read as an error rather than a choice, which is a thing to be ready to explain.
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What they receive
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Charle
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Charles are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Charle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Charle in 2025?
- Charle is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Charle with classmates?
- Charle will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Charle? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Charle and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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