Charlie
Pronounced CH AA1 R L IY0 (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1919
- 145 years in use
- 3 spellings
How popular is Charlie?
Charlie is a name given to both boys and girls, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 294,761 children — the 180th most common boys' name on record.
It peaked in 1919, went quiet for most of a century, and is climbing again. Its best single year was 1919, when 3,361 children were given it.
Three other spellings are counted in that total — Charley, Charlee and Charli — because they are pronounced identically.
Roughly 30% of children named Charlie are girls, so the split is a real one rather than a rounding error.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Charlie and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Charley
- Charlee
- Charli
Nicknames
Charlie is itself a short form of Charles.
Characteristics
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- CH AA1 R L IY0 · CH AA1 R L IY1
- Stress pattern:
- 10 · 11
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Charlie
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Charlie
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Charlie?
- Charlie ranks 180th among boys' names in US records, with 294,761 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 20,090.
- Is Charlie a unisex name?
- Yes. About 30% of children given the name are girls, which is a genuine split rather than a rounding error.
- When was Charlie most popular?
- 1919, when 3,361 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Charlie spelled?
- Charley, Charlee, Charli. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.