Popularity of the name Charles, 1880–2025
Charles was at its most popular in 1880, when 5,348 boys were given the name: about 1 in 21 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #4. In 2025, 5,898 boys were named Charles, ranking #48. In all, Social Security counts 2,434,659 boys named Charles since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 12,476 girls named Charles. Its peak falls in the earliest years of the records, and counts from before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card.
- Peak year
- 1880
- Rank in 1880
- #4
- Babies in 1880
- 5,348
- Rank in 2025
- #48
- Total since 1880
- 2,434,659
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has climbed from #50 in 2015 to #48 in 2025, with 7,204 boys named Charles in 2015 and 5,898 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Charles ranked highest in the 1880s, at #5, with 46,656 boys given the name that decade. In the 2020s so far it ranks #50.
Every 20 years in the records: 5,348 in 1880 (#4), 4,098 in 1900 (#5), 28,309 in 1920 (#5), 31,689 in 1940 (#6), 29,677 in 1960 (#13), 14,959 in 1980 (#29), 7,525 in 2000 (#51) and 6,249 in 2020 (#46).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 40,781, in 1947. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 1947 than for 1880, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank, #4, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Charles, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 5,348 | #4 |
| 1881 | 4,636 | #5 |
| 1882 | 5,091 | #5 |
| 1883 | 4,826 | #4 |
| 1884 | 4,802 | #5 |
| 1885 | 4,599 | #5 |
| 1886 | 4,533 | #5 |
| 1887 | 4,031 | #5 |
| 1888 | 4,591 | #5 |
| 1889 | 4,199 | #5 |
| 1890 | 4,061 | #5 |
| 1891 | 3,640 | #5 |
| 1892 | 4,319 | #5 |
| 1893 | 3,723 | #5 |
| 1894 | 3,788 | #5 |
| 1895 | 3,633 | #5 |
| 1896 | 3,639 | #5 |
| 1897 | 3,341 | #5 |
| 1898 | 3,557 | #5 |
| 1899 | 3,147 | #5 |
| 1900 | 4,098 | #5 |
| 1901 | 3,049 | #5 |
| 1902 | 3,361 | #5 |
| 1903 | 3,213 | #5 |
| 1904 | 3,406 | #6 |
| 1905 | 3,608 | #5 |
| 1906 | 3,607 | #6 |
| 1907 | 3,884 | #6 |
| 1908 | 3,929 | #7 |
| 1909 | 4,029 | #7 |
| 1910 | 4,784 | #7 |
| 1911 | 5,725 | #7 |
| 1912 | 11,070 | #7 |
| 1913 | 13,191 | #7 |
| 1914 | 16,937 | #7 |
| 1915 | 21,960 | #7 |
| 1916 | 23,612 | #6 |
| 1917 | 24,143 | #7 |
| 1918 | 26,921 | #5 |
| 1919 | 25,192 | #5 |
| 1920 | 28,309 | #5 |
| 1921 | 29,242 | #5 |
| 1922 | 28,839 | #5 |
| 1923 | 28,966 | #5 |
| 1924 | 30,460 | #5 |
| 1925 | 29,580 | #5 |
| 1926 | 29,521 | #5 |
| 1927 | 31,941 | #5 |
| 1928 | 31,243 | #5 |
| 1929 | 29,930 | #5 |
| 1930 | 31,867 | #6 |
| 1931 | 29,934 | #6 |
| 1932 | 31,092 | #6 |
| 1933 | 28,991 | #6 |
| 1934 | 29,790 | #7 |
| 1935 | 29,983 | #6 |
| 1936 | 29,101 | #6 |
| 1937 | 30,520 | #6 |
| 1938 | 31,151 | #6 |
| 1939 | 30,789 | #6 |
| 1940 | 31,689 | #6 |
| 1941 | 32,742 | #6 |
| 1942 | 35,854 | #7 |
| 1943 | 36,632 | #7 |
| 1944 | 34,662 | #7 |
| 1945 | 32,469 | #7 |
| 1946 | 38,215 | #9 |
| 1947 | 40,781 | #9 |
| 1948 | 38,676 | #9 |
| 1949 | 40,052 | #9 |
| 1950 | 39,095 | #9 |
| 1951 | 39,406 | #9 |
| 1952 | 38,866 | #9 |
| 1953 | 38,421 | #9 |
| 1954 | 37,463 | #10 |
| 1955 | 35,365 | #11 |
| 1956 | 35,239 | #11 |
| 1957 | 34,283 | #11 |
| 1958 | 32,242 | #11 |
| 1959 | 30,797 | #11 |
| 1960 | 29,677 | #13 |
| 1961 | 29,194 | #13 |
| 1962 | 27,590 | #15 |
| 1963 | 26,762 | #16 |
| 1964 | 25,908 | #17 |
| 1965 | 23,494 | #20 |
| 1966 | 22,252 | #20 |
| 1967 | 21,288 | #20 |
| 1968 | 21,575 | #20 |
| 1969 | 21,658 | #19 |
| 1970 | 22,411 | #21 |
| 1971 | 19,851 | #22 |
| 1972 | 16,968 | #23 |
| 1973 | 15,752 | #23 |
| 1974 | 15,151 | #23 |
| 1975 | 14,574 | #25 |
| 1976 | 13,921 | #26 |
| 1977 | 14,743 | #26 |
| 1978 | 14,844 | #27 |
| 1979 | 14,806 | #28 |
| 1980 | 14,959 | #29 |
| 1981 | 14,427 | #31 |
| 1982 | 14,310 | #31 |
| 1983 | 13,212 | #33 |
| 1984 | 12,942 | #33 |
| 1985 | 12,900 | #34 |
| 1986 | 12,625 | #34 |
| 1987 | 12,173 | #35 |
| 1988 | 12,109 | #37 |
| 1989 | 12,245 | #36 |
| 1990 | 12,000 | #38 |
| 1991 | 11,336 | #38 |
| 1992 | 10,469 | #43 |
| 1993 | 9,855 | #44 |
| 1994 | 9,018 | #43 |
| 1995 | 8,478 | #44 |
| 1996 | 8,248 | #43 |
| 1997 | 7,656 | #49 |
| 1998 | 7,849 | #48 |
| 1999 | 7,525 | #50 |
| 2000 | 7,525 | #51 |
| 2001 | 7,283 | #55 |
| 2002 | 7,208 | #58 |
| 2003 | 7,696 | #57 |
| 2004 | 7,652 | #56 |
| 2005 | 7,933 | #56 |
| 2006 | 8,013 | #60 |
| 2007 | 7,452 | #62 |
| 2008 | 7,288 | #63 |
| 2009 | 7,284 | #64 |
| 2010 | 7,106 | #63 |
| 2011 | 6,987 | #61 |
| 2012 | 6,947 | #62 |
| 2013 | 7,025 | #57 |
| 2014 | 7,362 | #51 |
| 2015 | 7,204 | #50 |
| 2016 | 7,127 | #52 |
| 2017 | 7,193 | #48 |
| 2018 | 6,667 | #53 |
| 2019 | 6,406 | #52 |
| 2020 | 6,249 | #46 |
| 2021 | 6,010 | #50 |
| 2022 | 5,934 | #50 |
| 2023 | 5,421 | #54 |
| 2024 | 5,613 | #51 |
| 2025 | 5,898 | #48 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.