Charlz
Free man, an English derivation of Charles meaning manly or virile.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Charlz. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Charlz today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charlz births was 1996 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charlz. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Charlz. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1996
5 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
1996 SSA rank
#9,221
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Charlz: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Charlz 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 Charlz during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Charlz
The given name Charlz has its origins in the Old Germanic language. It is derived from the word "karl", which means "man" or "freeman". This name was popular among the Frankish tribes of Western Europe during the early medieval period, around the 5th to 8th centuries AD.
In its original form, the name was spelled as "Karal" or "Karlaz". Over time, it evolved into various spellings such as "Charles", "Carl", and eventually "Charlz". The name gained widespread popularity after Charlemagne, the King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor, who ruled from 768 to 814 AD. He was known as "Carolus Magnus" in Latin, which translates to "Charles the Great".
The name Charlz appears in several historical records and literary works from the Middle Ages. One notable mention is in the epic poem "The Song of Roland", which recounts the exploits of a Frankish military leader during the reign of Charlemagne. The name is also found in various medieval manuscripts and chronicles documenting the lives of noblemen and royalty.
Some famous historical figures who bore the name Charlz include:
1. Charlemagne (742-814 AD), the King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures of the Middle Ages.
2. Charles Martel (686-741 AD), a Frankish military leader and the grandfather of Charlemagne, known for his decisive victory at the Battle of Tours, which halted the Islamic expansion into Western Europe.
3. Charles V (1500-1558 AD), the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, who ruled over a vast empire that spanned Europe and the Americas.
4. Charles I (1600-1649 AD), the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, whose conflicts with Parliament led to the English Civil War and his eventual execution.
5. Charles Dickens (1812-1870 AD), the renowned English novelist and social critic, known for his literary masterpieces such as "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Oliver Twist".
The name Charlz has a rich historical legacy, with its roots deeply embedded in the Germanic and Frankish cultures of early medieval Europe. It has been borne by kings, emperors, military leaders, and literary figures, leaving an indelible mark on the annals of history.
People
Charlz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charlz 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
Charlz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charlz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charlz 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Charlz a common name?
We classify Charlz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charlz most popular?
The single biggest year for Charlz was 1996, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charlz is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Charlz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charlz a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charlz in the SSA data are male. 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 Charlz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charlz 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 Charlz 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Charlz?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.