How popular is the baby name Charlie in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Charlie and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Charlie.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Charlie

Number of Babies Named Charlie

Born in the U.S. Since 1880

Posts that Mention the Name Charlie

Popular Baby Names in England and Wales, 2017

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), the most popular baby names in England and Wales last year were again Olivia and Oliver.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Olivia, 5,204 baby girls
2. Amelia, 4,358
3. Isla, 3,373
4. Ava, 3,289
5. Emily, 3,121
6. Isabella, 2,627
7. Mia, 2,590
8. Poppy, 2,527
9. Ella, 2,452
10. Lily, 2,405

Boy Names
1. Oliver, 6,259 baby boys
2. Harry, 5,031
3. George, 4,929
4. Noah, 4,273
5. Jack, 4,190
6. Jacob, 3,968
7. Leo, 3,781
8. Oscar, 3,738
9. Charlie, 3,724
10. Muhammad, 3,691

In 2016, the #1 names were the same.

In the girls’ top 10, Poppy replaced Jessica (now 15th).

In the boys’ top 10, Leo replaced Thomas (now 13th).

Sarah has dropped out of the girls’ top 100, and now Elizabeth is the only girl name that has been in the top 100 continually since 1904, when the records began.

For a longer set of rankings, check out the 100 most popular names at the blog British Baby Names.

Finally, here are some rare baby names that were given to exactly 3 babies in England and Wales last year:

Rare Girl Names Rare Boy Names
Azmia, Buddug, Clemmie, Dunia, Elham, Figgy, Ghalia, Harpa, Izna, Japleen, Keavie, Loveday, Massa, Nectaria, Oghosa, Princy, Rym, Skaiste, Tarteel, Umi, Vinisha, Wiam, Yukta, Zuzu Arlowe, Birch, Cledwyn, Diggory, Excel, Finlo, Gwydion, Hewie, Indio, Jetson, Kavarli, Laker, Moksh, Nhyira, Osazee, Philemon, Roj, Swaley, Tirth, Uttam, Volkan, Wraith, Yanky, Zheer

Sources: Baby names in England and Wales: 2017, Sarah drops out of top 100 baby names for first time in over a century

Rare Girl Names from Early Cinema: Letter N

nayda, nameNeed a rare, retro N-name?

Here’s the next installment of uncommon female names associated with very old films (released from the 1910s to the 1940s).

I’ve included links to popularity graphs for names that have seen enough usage to appear in the SSA data.

*

Nabby
Nabby Goode was a character played by actress Virginia Weidler in the film Maid of Salem (1937).

Nadina
Nadina was a character name in multiple films, including A Polar Romance (1915) and Runaway Queen (1934).

  • Usage of the baby name Nadina.

Nadira
Princess Nadira was a character played by actress Malvina Longfellow in the film The Indian Love Lyrics (1923).

  • Usage of the baby name Nadira.

Nadje
Nadje was a character played by actress Patricia Palmer in the film The Leopard’s Bride (1916).

Nadji
Nadji was a character name in multiple films, including Chandu the Magician (1932) and The Return of Chandu (1934).

Naela
Sun Priestess Naela was a character played by actress Lil Dagover in the film The Spiders (1919).

  • Usage of the baby name Naela.

Nahaku
Nahaku was a character played by actress Helen Lindroth in the short film The Dance of Death (1914).

Naida
Naida Lessing was an actress who appeared in 1 film in 1918. Naida was also a character name in multiple films, including The Jungle Lovers (short, 1915) and A Cafe in Cairo (1924).

  • Usage of the baby name Naida.

Naidra
Naidra was a character played by actress Mignon Anderson in the short film Naidra, the Dream Woman (1914).

Naio
Naio was a character played by actress Adda Gleason in the short film The Red Blood of Courage (1915).

Nairaini
Nairaini was a character played by actress Claire Du Brey in the film The Bronze Bell (1921).

Naja
Naja was a character played by actress Maria Montez in the film Cobra Woman (1944).

  • Usage of the baby name Naja.

Nakula
Nakula was a character played by actress Vivian Reed in the film The Lad and the Lion (1917).

Nalia
Nalia McCabe was a character played by actress Corinne Barker in the film Enchantment (1921).

  • Usage of the baby name Nalia.

Nalu
Nalu was a character played by actress Ramsay Ames in the film Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944).

Nan
Nan Christy was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in 1894. Nan was also a character name in multiple films, including Nan’s Victory (short, 1914) and Nan of the North (1922).

  • Usage of the baby name Nan.

Nance
Nance was a character name in multiple films, including The Clutch of Circumstance (short, 1915) and Nance (1920).

  • Usage of the baby name Nance.

Nanci
Nanci Price was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1930s. She was born in Colorado in 1918.

  • Usage of the baby name Nanci.

Naneta
Naneta was a character played by actress Clara Williams in the film The Criminal (1916).

Nanette
Nanette was a character name in multiple films, including Nanette of the Wilds (1916) and The Cowboy and the Countess (1926).

Nanine
Nanine was a character played by actress Beryl Morhange in the film Camille (1915) and by Jessie Ralph in Camille (1936).

  • Usage of the baby name Nanine.

Nannie
Nannie Maitland was a character played by actress Evelyn Brent in the film The Iron Woman (1916).

  • Usage of the baby name Nannie.

Nanon
Nanon was a character name in multiple films, including The Conquering Power (1921) and Lady of the Pavements (1929).

Nara
Nara Alexieff was a character played by actress Clara Kimball Young in the film The Hands of Nara (1922).

  • Usage of the baby name Nara.

Narcissa
Narcissa was a character name in multiple films, including The Oregon Trail (1923) and For Alimony Only (1926).

Nargis
Nargis was a character played by actress Marguerite Comont in the film Kismet (1920).

  • Usage of the baby name Nargis.

Narita
Narita was a character played by actress Myrna Loy in the film Cock o’ the Walk (1930).

  • Usage of the baby name Narita.

Narjis
Narjis was a character played by actress Blanche Friderici in the film Kismet (1930).

  • Usage of the baby name Narjis.

Nasa
Nasa Springer was a character played by actress Clara Bow in the film Call Her Savage (1932).

Nasoni
Nasoni was a character played by actress Doraldina in the film The Woman Untamed (1920).

Natacha
Natacha was a character played by actress Edna Sedgewick in the film Red Barry (1938).

Natcha
Natcha Manyus was a character played by actress Claudia Dell in the film The Lost City (1935).

Natchi
Natchi was a character played by actress Carmen Phillips in the film The Great Circus Mystery (1925).

Natoosa
Natoosa was a character played by actress Mary Charleson in the short film Natoosa (1912).

Natrova
Natrova was a character played by actress Milada Mladova in the film Escape Me Never (1947).

Naturich
Naturich was a character played by actress Red Wing (Lillian St. Cyr) in the film The Squaw Man (1914), by Ann Little in The Squaw Man (1918), and by Lupe Velez in The Squaw Man (1931).

Nauma
Nauma was a character played by actress Princess Uwane Yea in the film The Heart of Wetona (1919).

Navarre
Navarre King was a character played by actress Sally Eilers in the film Broadway Babies (1929).

Nayda
Nayda was a character played by actress Rita Hayworth in the film Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935).

  • Usage of the baby name Nayda.

Nazama
Nazama was a character played by actress Binnie Barnes in the film The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938).

Nazimova
Alla Nazimova, often credited simply as Nazimova, was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1940s. She was born in Russia (now Ukraine) in 1879. Her birth name was Miriam Edez Adelaida Leventon. Alla was also a character played by actress Sally Crute in the film The Cossack Whip (1916).

Nea
Nea was a character played by actress Dona Drake in the film Aloma of the South Seas (1941).

  • Usage of the baby name Nea.

Nechia
Nechia was a character played by actress Dolly Larkin in the short film A Daughter of the Redskins (1912).

Necia
Necia was a character played by actress Marceline Day in the film The Barrier (1926) and by Jean Parker in The Barrier (1937).

  • Usage of the baby name Necia.

Nedda
Nedda was a character name in multiple films, including The Soul of Luigi (short, 1914) and A Clown Must Laugh (1936).

  • Usage of the baby name Nedda.

Nedra
Nedra was a character name in multiple films, including Strength of Family Ties (short, 1914) and The Empress (1917).

  • Usage of the baby name Nedra.

Neeka
Neeka Le Mort was a character played by actress Nell Shipman in the film The Girl from God’s Country (1921).

  • Usage of the baby name Neeka.

Neely
Neely was a character played by actress Duane Thompson in the film One Hour of Love (1927).

  • Usage of the baby name Neely.

Neenah
Neenah was a character played by actress Kathleen Key in the film The Man from Brodney’s (1923).

  • Usage of the baby name Neenah.

Neepah
Neepah was a character played by actress Eugenie Besserer in the short film The Last of Her Tribe (1912).

Neeta
Neeta was a character name in multiple films, including Temptation and the Girl (short, 1917) and The Third Alarm (1930).

  • Usage of the baby name Neeta.

Neewah
Neewah was a character played by actress Neola May in the serial film Perils of the Yukon (1922).

Neila
Neila was a character name in multiple films, including A Soul for Sale (1918) and East of Borneo (1931).

  • Usage of the baby name Neila.

Neleta
Neleta was a character played by actress Steffi Duna in the film Anthony Adverse (1936).

Nelga
Nelga Petrona was a character played by actress Julia Swayne Gordon in the short film The Tigress (1915).

Nell
Nell Craig was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1940s. She was born in New Jersey in 1891. Nell Shipman was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Canada in 1892. Her birth name was Helen Foster-Barham. Nell was also a character name in multiple films, including The Reward of Thrift (short, 1914) and Nell Gwyn (1926).

  • Usage of the baby name Nell.

Nenette
Nenette Bisson was a character played by actress Carmel Myers in the film A Broadway Scandal (1918).

Nennah
Nennah was a character played by actress Ynez Seabury in the film The Calgary Stampede (1925).

Neola
Neola May was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in California in 1891. Neola was also a character played by actress Betty Schade in the short film Olana of the South Seas (1914).

  • Usage of the baby name Neola.

Nepeese
Nepeese was a character played by actress Nell Shipman in the film Baree, Son of Kazan (1918).

Nepthys
Nepthys was a character played by actress Jane Urban in the film The Last Egyptian (1914).

Neptuna
Neptuna was a character played by actress Bessie Eyton in the short film When His Ship Came In (1914).

Nerada
Nerada was a character played by actress Florence Lawrence in the short film The Slave (1909).

Nerée
Nerée Caron was a character played by actress Alma Rubens in the film A Woman’s Faith (1925).

Nesta
Nesta Pett was a character played by actress Cora Witherspoon in the film Piccadilly Jim (1936).

  • Usage of the baby name Nesta.

Netta
Netta Westcott was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1940s. She was born in England in 1893. Netta was also a character played by actress Linda Darnell in the film Hangover Square (1945).

  • Usage of the baby name Netta.

Nettie
Nettie was a character name in multiple films, including Java Head (1923) and On Again-Off Again (1937).

  • Usage of the baby name Nettie.

Neyneen
Neyneen Farrell was an actress who appeared in films in the 1920s. She was born in the Netherlands in 1898.

Neysa
Neysa von Igel was a character played by actress Louise Glaum in the film An Alien Enemy (1918).

  • Usage of the baby name Neysa.

Niagara
Niagara was a character played by actress Louise Beavers in the film Du Barry Was a Lady (1943).

Nichette
Nichette was a character played by actress Patsy Ruth Miller in the film Camille (1921) and by Elizabeth Allan in Camille (1936).

Ninette
Ninette Cavallar was a character played by actress Shirley Mason in the film Don Juan’s 3 Nights (1926).

Nini
Nini Theilade was an actress who appeared in films in the 1930s. She was born in Indonesia in 1915. Nini was also a character played by actress Barbara Bedford in the film Gleam O’Dawn (1922).

  • Usage of the baby name Nini.

Ninotchka
Ninotchka was a character played by actress Greta Garbo in the film Ninotchka (1939).

Niobe
Niobe was a character played by actress Hazel Dawn in the film Niobe (1915).

  • Usage of the baby name Niobe.

Nirvena
Nirvena was a character played by actress Stephanie Bachelor in the film Lady of Burlesque (1943).

Nista
Nista was a character played by actress Caroline Frances Cooke in the film The Devil Bear (1929).

Nita
Nita Naldi was an actress who appeared in films in the 1920s. She was born in New York in 1894. Her birth name was Mary Nonna Dooley. Nita was also a character name in multiple films, including Jane Goes A’ Wooing (1919) and Two Gun Sheriff (1941).

  • Usage of the baby name Nita.

Nitra
Nitra was a character played by actress Eve Whitney in the film Radar Patrol vs. Spy King (1949).

  • Usage of the baby name Nitra.

Nitta
Nitta Moseby was a character played by actress Jean Rouverol in the film The Law West of Tombstone (1938).

Nokomis
Nokomis was a character played by actress Lillian Leighton in the film Witchcraft (1916).

  • Usage of the baby name Nokomis (which debuted in the data the year Witchcraft came out).

Nona
Nona was a character name in multiple films, including If Winter Comes (1923) and Law of the Jungle (1942).

  • Usage of the baby name Nona.

Nonette
Nonette was a character played by actress Peggy Parr in the film Sylvia on a Spree (1918).

Nootka
Nootka was a character played by actress Laska Winter in the film Justice of the Far North (1925).

Norene
Norene McMann was a character played by actress Loretta Young in the film Three Girls Lost (1931).

  • Usage of the baby name Norene.

Noretta
Noretta was a character played by actress Pina Menichelli in the film The Banker (1913).

Norina
Norina was a character played by actress Myrna Dell in the film The Lost Tribe (1949).

  • Usage of the baby name Norina.

Normallee
Normallee was a character played by actress Clara Kimball Young in the short film The Spirit of the Orient (1913).

Notanah
Notanah was a character played by actress Kitty Stevens in the film Peer Gynt (1915).

Notawa
Notawa was a character played by actress Lillian Leighton in the film The Girl from God’s Country (1921).

Nourmalle
Nourmalle was a character played by actress Bessie Eyton in the short film The Cherry Pickers (1914).

Nuanta
Nuanta was a character played by actress Betty Schade in the short film The Call for Help (1917).

Nuanua
Nuanua was a character played by actress Florence Turner in the film Passion Fruit (1921).

Nubi
Nubi was a character played by actress Myrna Loy in the film The Squall (1929).

Nume
Nume Rogers was a character played by actress Florence Vidor in the film The Bravest Way (1918).

Nupondi
Nupondi was a character played by actress Mamo Clark in the film One Million B.C. (1940).

Nydia
Nydia Westman was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1970s. She was born in New York in 1902

  • Usage of the baby name Nydia.

Nydra
Nydra was a character played by actress Rita La Roy in the film The Delightful Rogue (1929).

  • Usage of the baby name Nydra.

Nyoka
Nyoka was a character played by actress Frances Gifford in the film Jungle Girl (serial, 1941) and by Kay Aldridge in Perils of Nyoka (1942).

  • Usage of the baby name Nyoka (which debuted in the data the year Jungle Girl came out).

Nyra
Nyra Seaton was a character played by actress Kathleen Vaughan in the film Corinthian Jack (1921).

  • Usage of the baby name Nyra.

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…Which of the above names do you like best?

Source: IMDb

Popular Baby Names in Northern Ireland, 2017

According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland in 2017 were Emily and James.

Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Emily, 216 baby girls
2. Grace, 202
3. Olivia, 179
4. Isla, 153
5. Anna, 142
6. Sophie, 132
7. Ella, 128
8. Amelia, 127
9. Charlotte, 124
10. Sophia, 121

Boy Names
1. James, 243 baby boys
2. Jack, 226
3. Noah, 189
4. Charlie, 185
5. Jacob, 180
6. Harry, 169
7. Thomas, 158
8. Daniel, 147
9. Oliver, 143
10. Logan, 125

In the girls’ top ten, Isla and Charlotte replace Lily and Ava.

In the boys’ top ten, Thomas and Logan replace Matthew and Alfie.

The top two names, Emily and James, were the same in 2016.

In the adjacent Republic of Ireland, the top names of 2017 were Emily and Jack.

Sources: Baby Names – NISRA, Top 10 baby names in Northern Ireland

Gwyned: Baby Name Inspired by 1940s Career Girl

gwyned, 1948, baby name, 1940s, magazine
© 1948 Life

In 1948, the name Gwyned was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data. In fact, it was the top one-hit wonder of the year.

  • 1950: unlisted
  • 1949: unlisted
  • 1948: 9 baby girls named Gwyned [debut]
  • 1947: unlisted
  • 1946: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A 23-year-old career girl named Gwyned Filling.

In May of 1948, she was profiled in Life magazine in a 12-page, 24-image photo essay called “The Private Life of Gwyned Filling.” A 25th image of Gwyned was featured on the cover.

Gwyned, a recent college graduate from Missouri, was working in New York City as a copywriter at the Newell-Emmett advertising agency for $52 a week. The photos showed Gwyned in her day-to-day life: quarreling with her roommate Marilyn in their 11×15-foot apartment, eating breakfast at the diner for 15¢, going on a date, running to work in the rain, and so forth.

“In a world where television was still a novelty, the story turned her into a minor celebrity. The issue sold so fast it had to be reprinted in the first week.”

The very first paragraph of the accompanying article revealed that Gwyned’s mother Mildred had discovered the name “Gwyned” in the society column of a newspaper. Life called it an “odd name.” (It may have been based on Gwynedd, the name of an ancient kingdom in Wales.)

In November of the same year, Life gave readers an update on Gwyned: she had quit her job and married a co-worker named Charlie. For their honeymoon, they took a cruise to the Caribbean.

What are your thoughts on the name Gwyned? Do you like it more or less than the similar name Gwyneth?

P.S. Thank you to Becca for calling my attention to Gwyned a few years ago!

Sources:

Name Quotes #61: Madeleine, Tim, Clara

It’s the first Monday of the month, so it’s time for some name quotes!

From a Vice interview with Jeff Goldblum:

Vice: Amazing. That’s Charlie Ocean right?

Jeff: Yeah that’s Charlie Ocean! And then our other son [with wife Emilie Livingston, a Canadian aerialist, actress, and former Olympian] who’s now 11 months old is River Joe.

Vice: Any musical streaks in either of them yet?

Jeff: I’ve always sat at the piano these last couple years with Charlie Ocean and he kinda bangs around. But I must say, River Joe, when I play or we put on music, boy he’s just standing up at this point, but he rocks to the music and bounces up and down. He seems to really like it so maybe he’s musical. I’d like to play with them.

(I am fascinated by the fact that the boys aren’t simply Charlie and Joe. Clearly the water aspect of each name requires emphasis every time.)

From the essay Forgetting the Madeleine, written by pastry chef Frances Leech:

In reality, I was named for two grandmothers: Jenny Frances and Lucy Madeleine. However, when I introduce myself at baking classes, I lie.

“My parents named me after the most famous pastry in French literature.”

It is a good name for a pâtissier, a pastry chef, and a good story to tell. The mnemonic sticks in my students’ minds, and after three hours and four cakes made together, they remember me as Madeleine and not Frances. Stories make for powerful anchors, even when the truth is twisted for dramatic effect.

From an article about chef Auguste Escoffier, who named his dishes after the rich and famous:

Escoffier came up with thousands of new recipes, many of which he served at London’s Savoy Hotel and the Paris Ritz. Some were genuine leaps of ingenuity, others a twist on a classic French dish. Many carry someone else’s name. In early dishes, these are often historical greats: Oeufs Rossini, for the composer; Consommé Zola, for the writer; Omelette Agnès Sorel, for the mistress of Charles VII. Later on, however, Escoffier made a habit of giving dishes the handles of people who, in their day, were virtual household names: An entire choir of opera singers’ names are to be found in Escoffier’s cookery books. The most famous examples are likely Melba toast and Peach Melba, for the Australian opera singer Nellie Melba, though there are hundreds of others.

An essay about the plight of people named Tim, by Tim Dowling:

A lot of baggage comes with the name Tim. I have not forgotten Martin Amis’s 20-year-old description of Tim Henman as “the first human being called Tim to achieve anything at all”. More recently Will Self wrote: “There’s little doubt that your life chances will be constrained should your otherwise risk-averse parents have had the temerity to Tim you.” This was in a review of the JD Wetherspoon pub chain, the many faults of which Self put down to founder Tim Martin never being able “to escape the fact of his Timness”.

[…]

Amis and Self believe the poor showing of Tims is the result of nominative determinism: the name Tim carries expectations of inconsequentiality that anyone so christened will eventually come to embody. Gallingly, research suggests they may be right.

From an article about Spanish babies being named after soccer players’ babies:

This was clearly shown when Barcelona star Lionel Messi’s first son Thiago was born to partner Antonella Roccuzzo in November 2012. That year the name Thiago did not appear in the Top 100 boys names given to babies in Spain, according to Spain’s National Statistics Agency [INE].

[…]

Something similar happened when Mateo Messi was born in Sep 2015. In just 12 months Mateo climbed from 14th to 9th most popular name among Spanish parents. Ciro Messi, born in March this year, will surely see the originally Persian name break into the top 100.

From an article about UC Berkeley student (and mom) Natalie Ruiz:

Doe Library’s North Reading Room became Ruiz’s haven. “It was one of the few quiet places where I felt I could focus,” she says. “That season of my life was extremely dark; I didn’t know if I’d make it to graduation, or how I could possibly raise a baby at this time.”

One day at the library, she noticed light shining down on her growing belly, right over the university seal on her T-shirt and the words “fiat lux.” She and Blanchard had considered Lillian or Clara as baby names, but now the choice was made.

“I felt my daughter kick, and it occurred to me that clara in Spanish means ‘bright,’ and I imagined the way that this baby could and would be the bright light at the end of this dark season,” says Ruiz, who gave birth to Clara on May 15, 2014.

From an interview with entrepreneur Eden Blackman:

For many entrepreneurs, starting a business often feels like bringing new life into the world. It’s not every day though, that your endeavours result in a baby named in your honour.

“That’s the pinnacle for me, it’s simply mind-blowing,” says Eden Blackman, founder of online dating business Would Like to Meet and namesake of young Eden, whose parents met on the site several years ago. “That is amazing and quite a lot to take on but it’s a beautiful thing.”

From the article Do You Like Your Name? by Arthur C. Brooks (found via Nameberry):

I cringe a little whenever I hear someone say my name, and have ever since I was a child. One of my earliest memories is of a lady in a department store asking me my name and bursting out laughing when I said, “Arthur.”

Before you judge that lady, let’s acknowledge that it is actually pretty amusing to meet a little kid with an old man’s name. According to the Social Security Administration, “Arthur” maxed out in popularity back in the ’90s. That is, the 1890s. It has fallen like a rock in popularity since then. I was named after my grandfather, and even he complained that his name made him sound old. Currently, “Arthur” doesn’t even crack the top 200 boys’ names. Since 2013, it has been beaten in popularity by “Maximus” (No. 200 last year) and “Maverick” (No. 85).

One thing I constantly hear from people I meet for the first time is, “I imagined you as being much older.” I don’t take this as flattery, because at 54, I’m really not that young. What they are saying is that they imagined someone about 100 years old.

To see more quotes about names, check out the name quotes category.