Charlaine
A feminine French name derived from the Germanic name Charles, meaning "free man".
Name Census estimates that about 192 living Americans carry the first name Charlaine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charlaine today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charlaine births was 1935 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charlaine. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Charlaine is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Charlaines were born before 1966.
People living today
192
~ 1 in 1,785,179 Americans
Peak year
1935
19 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1994 SSA rank
#9,729
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Charlaine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charlaine from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 107 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charlaine by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Charlaine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charlaines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Charlaine
The name Charlaine is a feminine given name of French origin, derived from the combination of two Old French words: "char" meaning "beloved" and "laine" meaning "wool" or "linen." It emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, in the northern regions of France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Charlaine dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in a medieval French manuscript. However, the name was relatively uncommon during this period and was primarily used among the nobility and upper classes of French society.
The name gained some popularity in the late 16th century, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. One notable figure from this time was Charlaine de Montfort, a French noblewoman born in 1578, who played a significant role in the religious wars that plagued France during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
In the 18th century, Charlaine Duval, a French writer and philosopher born in 1721, gained recognition for her works on moral philosophy and ethics. She was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of Paris during the Enlightenment period.
As the name spread across Europe, variations and adaptations emerged in different languages. In the 19th century, the German variation "Charlene" became popular, with Charlene von Stein, a German painter born in 1832, being one of the most notable figures with this name.
Another historical figure worth mentioning is Charlaine de Beaufort, a French aristocrat and philanthropist born in 1845, who dedicated her life to supporting various charitable causes and helping the less fortunate in her community.
Over the centuries, the name Charlaine has remained a relatively uncommon choice, particularly in English-speaking countries. However, it has maintained a certain charm and elegance, often associated with its French roots and historical connections.
People
Charlaine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charlaine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Charlaine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charlaine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 192 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charlaine going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,785,179 US residents.
Is Charlaine a common name?
We classify Charlaine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 395 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charlaine most popular?
The single biggest year for Charlaine was 1935, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charlaine is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Charlaine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charlaine in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.