Charron
A masculine French name meaning "wagon driver" or "carriage maker".
Name Census estimates that about 358 living Americans carry the first name Charron. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Charron today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charron births was 1976 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charron. 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.
People living today
358
~ 1 in 957,414 Americans
Peak year
1976
20 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2008 SSA rank
#9,729
Tracked since 1944
Census
Charron in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 474 people with the first name Charron, which placed it at #21,431 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
#21,431
National first-name rank
People counted
474
474 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charron
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charron is Black at 59.9%. The next largest groups are White (32.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Charron 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 Charron at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.9% · 284
- White32.1% · 152
- Two or more races4.9% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Charron
Charron leans heavily female at 87.8% of total registrations, but 50 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Charron as a male name
- Ranked #12,846 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1976 (8 births)
Charron as a female name
- Ranked #9,729 in 1993
- 8 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1974 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Charron on both sides of the split. Of the 468 people counted with this name, 95 were male (20.3%) and 373 were female (79.7%).
Popularity
Charron: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charron from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 143 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charron 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 Charron during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charrons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Charron
The name Charron is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "charron," which means "wagon maker" or "wheelwright." This occupation-based name likely emerged during the Middle Ages, when the trade of wagon and wheel making was highly valued and respected.
In medieval France, wagon makers and wheelwrights played a crucial role in transportation and the movement of goods. They were skilled artisans who crafted sturdy and reliable wagons, carts, and wheels that enabled trade and travel across the country. The name Charron was likely adopted as a surname by families involved in this profession.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Charron can be found in the Domesday Book, a historic manuscript completed in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Carron," which was likely an early spelling variation.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Charron. One of the most famous was Pierre Charron (1541-1603), a French philosopher and theologian who was a prominent figure during the Renaissance period. His work, "De la Sagesse" (On Wisdom), published in 1601, explored themes of skepticism, morality, and the pursuit of wisdom.
Another significant figure was Jean Charron (1612-1698), a French mathematician and physicist. He made important contributions to the study of optics and is known for his work on the refraction of light, as well as his collaboration with the renowned philosopher and scientist René Descartes.
In the realm of literature, Madeleine Charron (1737-1799) was a French novelist and playwright who gained recognition for her satirical works and plays that challenged societal norms of her time.
During the 19th century, Émile Charron (1824-1890) was a prominent French politician and journalist who served as a deputy in the National Assembly and was a vocal advocate for workers' rights and social reform.
More recently, René Charron (1904-1976) was a Canadian race car driver and motorsports pioneer. He competed in various racing events, including the Indianapolis 500, and played a significant role in the development of motorsports in Canada.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Charron, which has its roots in the venerable profession of wagon and wheel making in medieval France.
People
Charron + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charron 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
Charron: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charron?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 358 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charron 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 957,414 US residents.
Is Charron a common name?
We classify Charron as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 411 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charron most popular?
The single biggest year for Charron was 1976, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charron is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charron in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 474 people with the name Charron, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,431 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 Charron 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 Charron?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Charron on both sides of the split. Of the 468 people counted with this name, 95 were male (20.3%) and 373 were female (79.7%). 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 Charron?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charron is Black at 59.9%. The next largest groups are White (32.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Charron most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Charron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.9% (284 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 Charron in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charron a female name?
Yes, 87.8% of people registered as Charron 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 Charron still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charron 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 Charron 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 Charron?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Charron on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.