Charleen
A feminine name of French origin meaning "free woman".
Name Census estimates that about 4,321 living Americans carry the first name Charleen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charleen today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charleen births was 1947 (231 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charleen. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Charleen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.3K
~ 1 in 79,323 Americans
Peak year
1947
231 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,384
Tracked since 1911
Census
Charleen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,264 people with the first name Charleen, which placed it at #3,770 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
#3,770
National first-name rank
People counted
5.3K
5,264 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charleen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charleen is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) 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 Charleen 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 Charleen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.6% · 3,925
- Black or African American9.9% · 520
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 331
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.6% · 243
- Two or more races3.6% · 190
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 55
Popularity
Charleen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charleen from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 1,655 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
Charleen 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 Charleen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charleens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Charleen, while West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 93 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Charleen
The name Charleen is a feminine given name derived from the French name Charlene, which is a combination of the French words "char" meaning "dear" and "lene" meaning "little girl." The name has its roots in the medieval period, originating in the French-speaking regions of Europe.
The earliest recorded use of the name Charleen can be traced back to the 13th century, where it appeared in various French literary works and historical records. During this time, the name was often associated with noble families and was considered a name of distinction.
One of the earliest recorded individuals to bear the name Charleen was Charleen de Montfort, a French noblewoman who lived in the late 12th century. She was known for her involvement in the affairs of the royal court and her patronage of the arts.
In the 16th century, the name gained popularity in England, where it was often spelled as "Charlene." A notable bearer of the name from this period was Charlene Woodville, a courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.
During the Renaissance period, the name Charleen was associated with artistic and intellectual circles. One prominent figure was Charleen de' Medici, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who lived from 1519 to 1589.
In the 19th century, the name Charleen became more widely used across Europe and North America. One notable bearer was Charleen Bronte, a British novelist and poet who lived from 1816 to 1855. Her works, such as "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights," are considered literary classics.
Another notable figure from this period was Charleen Stowe, an American abolitionist and author, who lived from 1811 to 1896. Her novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" played a significant role in the anti-slavery movement in the United States.
Throughout history, the name Charleen has been borne by many accomplished women in various fields, including arts, literature, and politics. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its melodic sound and its association with elegance and sophistication.
People
Charleen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charleen 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
Charleen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charleen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,321 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charleen 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 79,323 US residents.
Is Charleen a common name?
We classify Charleen as "Rare". It ranks above 96.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charleen most popular?
The single biggest year for Charleen was 1947, when 231 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charleen is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charleen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,264 people with the name Charleen, or 1.74 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,770 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 Charleen 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 Charleen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charleen appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,268 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Charleen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charleen is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) 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 Charleen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Charleen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.6% (3,925 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 Charleen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charleen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charleen 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 Charleen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charleen 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 Charleen 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 are called Charleen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.