Charlize
Feminine · “free man”
Charlize is an Afrikaans feminine built from Charles — a free man in Germanic — and one actress made it international.
How old is the name Charlize?
Charlize first appears in US birth records in 1998 — 27 years ago. The typical Charlize alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 5,600 people named Charlize are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Charlize most popular?
Charlize peaked in 2004, reaching #625 nationally. Today it ranks #2645, 2,020 places below that high. See the whole 2004 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From karl to Charlize
The story of Charlize
Charlize Theron's parents are said to have built her name from Charles and Elizabeth, an Afrikaans practice of combining parents' names; her career made it international from the 1990s. Behind Charles sits the Germanic word for a free man. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
free man
From Charles, from the Germanic karl, 'free man', with an Afrikaans feminine ending; the name is generally said to combine the parents' names Charles and Elizabeth. The Germanic element is settled and the Afrikaans formation documented.
How the name formed
- karl
- Charles
- Charlize
Related forms: Charlize · Charlise
Pronouncing Charlize
shar-LEEZ
Two syllables, stress on the second. Afrikaans says shar-LEEZ-uh with three.
Nicknames for Charlize
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
- 1998
- Most girls named
- 2004436 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #625reached in 2004
- Change vs 2024
- −12.2%65 in 2025, from 74
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.
Charlize in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Charlize in Afrikaans — same name
- Charlise in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Charlizes among us
people named Charlize are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 24,727 born in 2025 was named Charlize
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Niki test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Charlize's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Niki climbed just as high around 1972, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Niki's path sketches the road Charlize is walking now.
Charlize 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 Charlize is headed
Charlize is easing off slowly — about 25% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Charlize beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Charlize in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Afrikaans families build names from parents' names is a first-rate practice.
- Charlie and Lize are two short forms, both with real use.
- The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
- One actress dominates the association entirely.
- Afrikaans and English say it differently.
- It is very new outside South Africa.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Charlize
Feminine · #2645 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Charlizes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,600 people named Charlize are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Charlize in 2025?
- Charlize ranks #2645 among US girl names in 2025, with 65 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Charlize?
- About 1 in every 24,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Charlize — 65 in all.
- Will my child share the name Charlize with classmates?
- Charlize will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Charlize
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Amaiah#2645 · Esra#2645 · Caliana#2645 · Henrietta#2645 · Mahogany#2645 · Aaira#2645 · Wylie#2645 · Journii#2645
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Charlize? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Charlize and another name?
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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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