Josh Charles
There are approximately 3 people named Josh Charles living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 114,251,446 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Josh with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Charles. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
3
1 in 114,251,446
Named Josh
14K
Alive today
Named Charles
71K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 14K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1979
Average age: 38
Estimated bearers: 71K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #548
Per 100K: 20.75
Top ancestry: Black (53.0%)
First name trend
Josh: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Josh. The peak year was 1979 with 531 births. The average person named Josh today is 38 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Charles surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Charles, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 53.0%.
- Black or African American53.0%
- White33.7%
- Hispanic or Latino7.9%
- Two or more races2.4%
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1%
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Josh has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0042% of the US population, based on 14,479 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Charles appears at a rate of 20.75 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0208%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 3 people with the full name Josh Charles. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Josh
Related
Other people with the surname Charles
FAQ
Josh Charles: questions and answers
How many people are named Josh Charles?
We estimate approximately 3 people in the United States share the full name Josh Charles. That works out to about 1 in 114,251,446 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0042%) with the surname frequency (20.75 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Josh Charles?
We classify Josh Charles as "Very Rare". About 1 in 114,251,446 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Josh a male or female name?
Josh is predominantly male. Out of 17,193 total SSA registrations, 100.0% were male and 0.0% were female. See the full Josh profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.