Charlane
A French feminine name derived from Charlemagne, meaning "free man".
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Charlane. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charlane today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charlane births was 1947 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charlane. 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 Charlane is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Charlanes were born before 1965.
People living today
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
1947
17 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1972 SSA rank
#6,661
Tracked since 1932
Census
Charlane in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 270 people with the first name Charlane, which placed it at #31,633 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#31,633
National first-name rank
People counted
270
270 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charlane
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charlane is White at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (6.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Charlane described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Charlane at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.9% · 186
- Black or African American16.3% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 17
- Two or more races4.1% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Charlane: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charlane from the 1930s through to the 1970s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 87 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
Charlane 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 Charlane during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charlanes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Charlane
The name Charlane has its roots in the Old French language, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated from the combination of two words: "char" meaning "dear" or "beloved," and "lane" meaning "wool" or "linen." The name was likely bestowed upon children born into families involved in the textile trade or wool industry during that era.
In the early 13th century, the name Charlane appeared in several medieval French manuscripts and records, particularly in regions like Normandy and Brittany. The earliest known record of the name dates back to 1221, when a seamstress named Charlane de Rouen was mentioned in a local parish register.
Throughout the centuries, Charlane has been a relatively uncommon name, but it has been borne by a few notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded figures with this name was Charlane de Montfort, a noblewoman who lived in the late 13th century and was known for her charitable works in the region of Poitiers.
In the 15th century, Charlane de Lascoux (1412-1487) was a renowned weaver and textile artist who established a successful workshop in the city of Lyon, contributing to the city's reputation as a center of silk production.
During the Renaissance period, Charlane Dupin (1509-1572) was a French poet and scholar who gained recognition for her contributions to the literary circles of Paris.
In the 18th century, Charlane Dufresnoy (1733-1804) was a respected botanist and horticulturist who established a notable garden and nursery in the town of Versailles, where she cultivated and introduced several new plant species.
Moving into the 19th century, Charlane Delacroix (1823-1891) was a prominent French painter and artist, known for her vibrant landscapes and portraiture. Her works were exhibited in prestigious salons and galleries throughout Europe.
While the name Charlane has remained relatively rare, it has persisted through the ages, carrying with it a rich historical tapestry woven from its origins in the textile trade, its association with notable figures in various fields, and its enduring connection to the French language and culture.
People
Charlane + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charlane 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
Charlane: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charlane?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charlane 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 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Charlane a common name?
We classify Charlane as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 237 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charlane most popular?
The single biggest year for Charlane was 1947, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charlane is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charlane in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 270 people with the name Charlane, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,633 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Charlane in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Charlane?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charlane appears almost entirely female. Of the 268 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Charlane?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charlane is White at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (6.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Charlane most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Charlane in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.9% (186 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Charlane in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charlane a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charlane 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.
Is Charlane still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charlane in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Charlane can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Charlane?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.