Charlise
Feminine · “Free man”
Charlise belongs to a family of names that Afrikaans builds in a very particular way: take the father's name, add an ending, and the daughter carries both.
How old is the name Charlise?
Charlise first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Charlise alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 900 people named Charlise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Charlise most popular?
Charlise peaked in 2004, reaching #2851 nationally. See the whole 2004 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Charlise
The best-known bearer of the sound spells it with a z, and her name was made for her: her father was called Charles, and the ending was added to produce a daughter's name that carried his. Afrikaans naming does this routinely, and so do several other traditions — the Nordic countries, parts of southern Africa, plenty of American families — but it is worth noticing how different it is from choosing a name off a list. A constructed name of that kind cannot be looked up, because it never existed before the child did; its meaning is a relationship rather than a word, and it is complete and correct from the moment it is given.
Meaning
Free man, by way of a father's name
The name is built on Charles, whose Germanic root means a free man, with an ending that makes a feminine. What is distinctive is not the meaning but the method — the name is constructed from a specific relative rather than inherited as a whole.
Pronouncing Charlise
shar-LEEZ
Two syllables with the stress at the back. The s here is voiced as a z, which is why both spellings exist.
Nicknames for Charlise
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
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 200456 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2851reached in 2004
- Change vs 2022
- −18.2%9 in 2024, from 11
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.
Charlise in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Charlize in Afrikaans — spelling variant
- Charlise in French — same name
Charlises among us
people named Charlise 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
Charlise 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 back stress gives it a strong finish and resists clipping.
- It carries a familiar name in an unfamiliar and elegant form.
- It is understood in French and Afrikaans without explanation.
- Charlize is the spelling most people know and hers will be written that way.
- The middle consonant is said as a z whichever letter is used.
- It is closely associated with one famous bearer.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Charlise
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Charlises are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Charlise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Charlise in 2025?
- Charlise is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Charlise with classmates?
- Charlise will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Charlise? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Charlise and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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