Cherelle
A feminine form of French origin meaning "darling" or "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 1,588 living Americans carry the first name Cherelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cherelle today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cherelle births was 1986 (184 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cherelle. 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
1.6K
~ 1 in 215,840 Americans
Peak year
1986
184 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2020 SSA rank
#15,613
Tracked since 1963
Popularity
Cherelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cherelle from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 826 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cherelle 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 Cherelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cherelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. California, Ohio, New York recorded the most babies named Cherelle, while Missouri, Indiana, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cherelle
The name Cherelle is a relatively modern name, originating from the French language in the 20th century. It is a feminine form of the French name Chéri, which means "darling" or "dear one." The name Chéri itself is derived from the Old French word "cher," meaning "dear" or "beloved."
While the name Cherelle does not have a long historical lineage, its roots can be traced back to the medieval period in France. During this time, terms of endearment like "cher" and "chéri" were commonly used in romantic poetry and literature, reflecting the courtly love traditions of the era.
The earliest recorded use of the name Cherelle is believed to have occurred in the early 20th century, possibly as a combination of the French words "chéri" and the suffix "-elle," which is a common feminine ending in French names. However, there are no notable historical figures or literary references associated with this name from earlier periods.
The first notable person with the name Cherelle is Cherelle Parker, an American politician and member of the Philadelphia City Council, born in 1974. Another individual with this name is Cherelle Baldwin, an American singer-songwriter and member of the R&B group Cherish, born in 1987.
In the world of sports, Cherelle George is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games as a hurdler. She was born in 1983.
Cherelle Skeete is a South African actress and model, known for her roles in television series such as "Isidingo" and "The Queen." She was born in 1988.
Cherelle Baldwin, mentioned earlier, is also a notable figure in the music industry, as she was part of the successful R&B group Cherish, known for their hit single "Do It to It" in the early 2000s.
While the name Cherelle is relatively new and does not have a long historical legacy, it has gained popularity in modern times, particularly in French-speaking regions and among those with an appreciation for French culture and language.
People
Cherelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cherelle 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
Cherelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cherelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,588 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cherelle 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 215,840 US residents.
Is Cherelle a common name?
We classify Cherelle as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,674 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cherelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Cherelle was 1986, when 184 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cherelle is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cherelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cherelle 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.
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.