Charon
Feminine
Charon is given to both — 1,001 girls and 216 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
The largest moon of Pluto is called Charon, and the man who found it named it after his wife. Charlene was the target; the ferryman of the dead was the cover story, and the astronomer spent the rest of his life pronouncing it SHAR-on, with the sh of her name, against every classicist who insisted on a hard k.
How old is the name Charon?
Charon first appears in US birth records in 1937 — 88 years ago. The typical Charon alive today was born around 1971, making them about 54 years old. About 900 people named Charon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Charon most popular?
Charon peaked in 1943, reaching #2151 nationally. See the whole 1943 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From a Greek ferryman of uncertain etymology to Charon
The story of Charon
The discovery was made in 1978 from a slightly elongated bulge on a photographic plate, and the naming rules required something from classical mythology. Charon fitted twice over: it is properly infernal, being Pluto's ferryman, and the first six letters are his wife's name. The International Astronomical Union approved it. The pronunciation dispute has never been settled — astronomers tend to say SHAR-on out of loyalty to the discoverer, classicists say KAIR-on because that is the Greek, and both are printed in dictionaries.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Greek ferryman's name is of uncertain derivation — a word for fierce or flashing eyes has been proposed. As an American girls' name from the 1930s this is much likelier to be a respelling of Sharon, which is a plain in Israel, than a reference to the underworld. The two are unrelated and the spelling cannot tell you which a family meant.
How the name formed
- a Greek ferryman of uncertain etymology
- Sharon established as an American girls' name
- Charon appears as a respelling in the 1930s
- a moon of Pluto is discovered in 1978
- the pronunciation has never been agreed
Related forms: Charon · Sharon
Pronouncing Charon
SHAIR-un
Two syllables, stress at the front, when the name is a form of Sharon. The Greek is KAIR-on, and the moon is said both ways by people who care about it.
Nicknames for Charon
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
- 1937
- Most girls named
- 197329 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2151reached in 1943
- Change vs 2003
- −16.7%5 in 2008, from 6
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.
Charon in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Charon in Greek — same name
- Sharon in English — related form
Charons among us
people named Charon 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
Charon 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
- It works for a child of either sex, and the record carries it on both sides.
- It is read as a familiar name by most people and as something stranger by a few.
- It has a moon, which very few names can claim.
- Anyone who knows Greek myth will hear the ferryman of the dead.
- The two pronunciations are both defensible and she will hear both.
- Sharon is far commoner and will be written instead.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Charon
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Charons 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 Charon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Charon in 2025?
- Charon is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Charon with classmates?
- Charon 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 Charon? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Charon and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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