Charline
Feminine name of English origin, derived from Charles, meaning "free man".
Name Census estimates that about 2,523 living Americans carry the first name Charline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charline today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charline births was 1928 (164 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charline. 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 Charline with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 135,852 Americans
Peak year
1928
164 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,413
Tracked since 1894
Census
Charline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,126 people with the first name Charline, which placed it at #5,480 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
#5,480
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,126 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charline is White at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Black (29.7%) and Hispanic (9.1%). 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 Charline 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 Charline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.8% · 1,652
- Black or African American29.7% · 928
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 284
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 116
- Two or more races3.7% · 116
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 30
Popularity
Charline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charline from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,276 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charline 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 Charline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charlines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Charline, while Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 116 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Charline
The name Charline is derived from the French masculine name Charles, which ultimately comes from the Germanic name Karl, meaning "free man" or "nobleman". The name gained popularity in France during the Middle Ages due to the fame of Charlemagne, the Frankish king and Holy Roman Emperor who reigned from 768 to 814 AD.
Charline is a feminine form of Charles that emerged in the 19th century. It was initially used in French-speaking regions of Europe but later spread to other parts of the world. The name has been used in various spellings, such as Charlene, Charlyne, and Charlin, though Charline remains the most common form.
In historical records, the name Charline can be traced back to the late 19th century. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Charline Cornu, a French artist born in 1872. Another notable figure was Charline von Heyl, a German painter and sculptor born in 1888.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Charline. These include Charline Labonté, a Canadian singer and actress born in 1982. Charline Vanhoenacker, a French journalist and writer born in 1978, is also well-known. Charline Picon, a French actress and comedian born in 1981, has gained recognition for her work in film and television.
In the realm of sports, Charline Van Snick, a Belgian judoka born in 1990, has achieved success by winning multiple medals at international competitions. Charline Joiner, an American athlete born in 1983, has excelled in the field of track and field, particularly in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints.
While the name Charline has its roots in French and Germanic cultures, it has gained popularity across various regions and ethnic groups over time. Its connection to the renowned Charlemagne and its melodic sound have contributed to its enduring appeal.
People
Charline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charline 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
Charline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,523 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charline 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 135,852 US residents.
Is Charline a common name?
We classify Charline as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charline most popular?
The single biggest year for Charline was 1928, when 164 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charline is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,126 people with the name Charline, or 1.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,480 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 Charline 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 Charline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charline appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,122 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 Charline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charline is White at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Black (29.7%) and Hispanic (9.1%). 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 Charline most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Charline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.8% (1,652 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 Charline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charline 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 Charline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charline 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 Charline 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 common is the name Charline?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.