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Charleston

Masculine · “Charles's town”

Charleston is given to both — 2,508 boys and 1,305 girls since 1880. See Charleston as a girl nameSee other names given to both

1914high 2015
#2991 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare41 boys in 2025

Charleston is a city named for a king and a dance named for the city. The chain runs backwards from a Germanic word for a free man, through a Frankish emperor, through two English kings, to a port in South Carolina.

How old is the name Charleston?

Charleston first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Charleston alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 2,300 people named Charleston are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Charleston most popular?

Charleston peaked in 1984, reaching #1581 nationally. Today it ranks #2991, 1,410 places below that high. See the whole 1984 chart.

Compare this nameMore “C” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Charleston

Charleston was founded in 1670 and named for the reigning king; it became one of the major ports of the American colonies, with everything that involved. In the nineteen-twenties a dance named for the city became internationally famous and put the name in front of a great many people who would never see the place. As a given name it is recent and American, part of the group of long place-names — Charleston, Kensington, Austin, Dallas — used as first names, and it is given mostly to sons.

Meaning

Charles's town

The city was named Charles Town for Charles II of England and became Charleston in the seventeen-eighties. Charles comes from Germanic karl, an ordinary word for a free man of common rank as opposed to a nobleman — the same word that gives the English churl, which took a worse turn. The reading is documented at every step.

How the name formed

  1. karl
  2. Charles
  3. Charles Town
  4. Charleston

Pronouncing Charleston

CHARLS-tun

Two syllables in ordinary American speech, three if said carefully. Stress on the first. There is no ambiguity in the sound; the name is long rather than difficult.

Nicknames for Charleston

Moderate

CharlieBuilt from the first half, and a complete name in its own right for both sexes
CharlesThe name inside it, and a full formal name with a very long record
ChasAn older English trimming of Charles, said 'Chaz'
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1914–202588440884119142025

US babies named Charleston per year from 1914 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#15811910s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1914
Most boys named
201588 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#1581reached in 1984
Change vs 2023
+41.4%41 in 2025, from 29
Charleston sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2015, with 88 boys. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Charleston in other languages

Strongest US states over the last decade: Georgia, Texas, Louisiana.

Charlestons among us

2,300

people named Charleston are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 boy in 41,660 born in 2025 was named Charleston

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Lynden test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Charleston's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lynden climbed just as high around 1945, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lynden's path sketches the road Charleston is walking now.

40%chance Charleston will feel dated by 2040
Charleston, aligned on its peakLynden· peak 1945not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-40 yrs+70 yrsLynden · #3396Charleston today
Charleston today is about where Lynden stood in 1986 — 41 years past a #1581-sized peak. By 2001, Lynden had settled around #4237.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Charleston sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.

A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored

Where Charleston is headed

19142030

US babies named Charleston per year, 1914 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Charleston is easing off slowly — about 15% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.

Cooling-15% by 2030projected around #3,408 in 2030

Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.

A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.

Charleston beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Charleston in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Charlestonthis name41#2991Roran41#2991Izaak41#2991Nyle41#2991Levin41#2991

US boys given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • Charlie and Charles are both hiding inside it, which gives a long name two excellent short forms.
  • A documented chain from a Germanic word through two kings to a real place.
  • Said and spelled correctly by every English speaker without being told.
What to consider
  • The city's history includes a great deal that is hard, and some people will bring it up.
  • It will almost always be shortened to Charlie, so that is the name the child will actually carry.
  • Place-names as first names date visibly to the period that made them fashionable.

Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive

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Charleston

Masculine · #2991 in the U.S.

♥ Love itNot for meLet’s talk about it
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Your shared list is empty. Charleston would be the first name on it.

Frequently asked

How many Charlestons are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Charleston are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How popular is the name Charleston in 2025?
Charleston ranks #2991 among US boy names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Charleston?
About 1 in every 41,660 US boys born in 2025 was named Charleston — 41 in all.
Will my child share the name Charleston with classmates?
Charleston will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Charleston

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Roran#2991 · Izaak#2991 · Nyle#2991 · Levin#2991 · Tilden#2991 · Hanson#2991 · Breck#2991 · Oswaldo#2991

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Charleston? See the current top 100.

Choosing between Charleston and another name?

See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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