How popular is the baby name Charade in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Charade.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Charade


Posts that mention the name Charade

Where did the baby name Charade come from in 1964?

Poster for the movie "Charade" (1964)

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word charade as “an empty or deceptive act or pretense.”

Given this rather unsavory meaning, it’s surprising that a handful of parents named their baby girls Charade in the 1960s:

  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: 5 baby girls named Charade
  • 1966: unlisted
  • 1965: unlisted
  • 1964: 6 baby girls named Charade [debut]
  • 1963: unlisted

So what was the influence here?

That debut in 1964 can be attributed to the movie Charade (1963) and/or the movie’s theme song, also called “Charade.”

The movie was a romantic comedy/thriller starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant that came out in December of 1963 (less than a month after the Kennedy assassination). Here’s how TCM sums it up: “A beautiful widow tries to find her husband’s lost fortune while eluding the killers who want it themselves.”

(Interesting fact: The movie fell out of copyright immediately upon release because the word “copyright” was mistakenly omitted from the title screen.)

The song was a sad-sounding Parisian waltz composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Henry Mancini’s version reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of 1963. Crooner Andy Williams also released a version that managed to reach the top 100 that year (but just barely — 100th place in January).

What are your thoughts on the baby name Charade?

Sources: Charade – Merriam-Webster, Charade (1963) – TCM.com, Charade (1963 song) – Wikipedia

Where did the baby name Charmin come from in 1955?

charmin, baby name, 1950s, commercial, product

So here’s one that I’m still not 100% sure about — we’re talking toilet paper, after all — but I think the theory is solid enough to post.

The baby name Charmin jumped into the U.S. baby name data for the first time in the mid-1950s:

  • 1959: 9 baby girls named Charmin
  • 1958: 16 baby girls named Charmin
  • 1957: 8 baby girls named Charmin
  • 1956: 10 baby girls named Charmin
  • 1955: 7 baby girls named Charmin [debut]
  • 1954: unlisted
  • 1953: unlisted

Now, the brand “Charmin” had already been around a while at this point. It was first manufactured in the late 1920s, and the name was based on the word “charming.” I don’t know what the pronunciation was originally, but when Charmin TV commercials started airing in the 1950s, the “ch” sounded like an sh, as in Charade.

And the commercials are key here. So is the packaging, and the slogan. Because during the 1950s, the Charmin Paper Company changed a few things:

  • 1953: It added a baby image to the packaging. Before that, the image had only ever been that of a woman’s silhouette. Within a few years, the “Charmin Baby” replaced the “Charmin Lady” entirely.
  • 1956: It started using the slogans “So very soft – it babies your skin” and “Charmin babies your skin” in print and on television. And at least one of the commercials featured an adorable toddler:
charmin, baby name, 1950s, commercial, product

I think these baby-emphasizing changes in the Charmin marketing gave expectant parents the subtle suggestion that “Charmin” might make a nice baby name.

Do you agree?

And did you know: The famous “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin!” marketing campaign that lasted from the ’60s to the ’80s inspired country singer Charlie Walker to write the song “Don’t Squeeze My Sharmon,” which became a top-10 country hit in 1967? Around the same time, the baby name Sharmon saw peak usage.

Sources: History of Charmin Toilet Paper – Charmin, The History of Toilet Paper – Supply Time