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 Ireland, 2016

According to data released yesterday by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), the most popular baby names in the country in 2016 were Emily and James.

Here are Ireland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Emily, 490 baby girls
2. Grace, 452 (up from 8th to 2nd)
3. Ava, 388 (2-way tie)
4. Lucy, 388 (2-way tie)
5. Amelia, 369 (2-way tie)
6. Sophie, 369 (2-way tie)
7. Emma, 365 (down from 2nd to 7th)
8. Mia, 357
9. Hannah, 351 (new)
10. Lily, 334 (new)

Boy Names
1. James, 688 baby boys (new #1 name; replaces Jack)
2. Jack, 684
3. Daniel, 558 (2-way tie)
4. Conor, 558 (2-way tie)
5. Sean, 501
6. Noah, 446
7. Adam, 400
8. Oisin, 398 (new)
9. Michael, 394
10. Luke, 375

Some quick facts about the girl names…

  • Newbies to the top 10: Hannah, Lily
  • Newbies to the top 100: Aria, Harper, Heidi, Matilda, Willow, Zoey
  • Biggest increases within the top 100, by…
    • Ranking: Willow/Matilda (tied), Harper, Heidi, Zoey, Daisy
    • Raw number: Grace, Fiadh, Saoirse, Charlotte, Evie, Holly/Alice (tied)
  • Top girl names in Ireland’s five biggest cities: Amelia (Dublin and Cork), Ava (Limerick), Fiadh (Galway), Mia (Waterford)

And some quick facts about the boy names…

  • Newbie to the top 10: Oisin
  • Newbie to the top 100: Muhammad
  • Biggest increases within the top 100, by…
    • Ranking: Muhammad, Louis, Lucas, Josh/Jason (tied), Ollie
    • Raw number: Finn, Max, Jacob, Lucas, Oisin, Ollie, Rian
  • Top boy names in Ireland’s five biggest cities: James (Dublin), Charlie (Cork), Conor (Limerick), Michael (Galway), Daniel (Waterford)

Finally, here are the 2015 rankings for Ireland, the 2016 rankings for Northern Ireland, and some Irish name pronunciations.

Sources: Irish Babies’ Names 2016, Press Statement Irish Babies’ Names 2016


Most Popular Baby Names in Quebec, 2016

According to data released recently by Retraite Québec, the most popular baby names in Quebec in 2016 were Emma and William.

Here are the province’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Emma, 632 baby girls
2. Lea, 514
3. Olivia, 507
4. Alice, 489
5. Florence, 470
6. Zoe, 416
7. Rosalie, 406
8. Charlotte, 400
9. Charlie, 387
10. Beatrice, 378

Boy Names
1. William, 791 baby boys
2. Thomas, 697
3. Liam, 654
4. Nathan, 614
5. Felix, 603
6. Jacob, 597
7. Noah, 590
8. Logan, 580
9. Alexis, 532
10. Gabriel, 530

In the girls’ top 10, Charlie returns and replaces Chloe (now 11th). In the boys’ top 10, Gabriel replaces Samuel (now 14th). Here are the 2015 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Some of the baby names used just once last year include:

  • Girls: Aucelia, Augia, Denasada, Eulogia, Flechere, Haydence, Juridielle, Luotta, Mavericka, Nermine, Omica, Saranella, Sydra, Tuleen, Waapikun, Zealy, Zoralie
  • Boys: Bienvenu, Brinx, Clouthier, Danevick, Dyberry, Endrick, Holiday, Knochlan, Luzolo, Naulaq, Ozroy, Rockwell, Syphax, Tchaz, Tunu, Vinicius, Zabian

A CBC News article about how Quebec’s baby names are evolving to reflect the province’s changing values mentioned several name trends observed from the 1980s to today:

  • Compound names (Anne-Marie, Jean-François) are falling out of style.
  • Once-taboo English names (Elliot, Mia) are seeing new acceptance.
  • Similarly, French names are flipping languages (Anne to Anna, Guillaume to William).
  • Names are also flipping gender (Ariel, Noa).
  • Pop culture is influencing names (Shania, Logan).
  • Unique names are on the rise.

Speaking of unique names, sociologist Laurence Charton of the INRS (Institut national de la recherche scientifique) suggested that the rise of unique names starting in the early 1980s was fueled in part by a 1981 change in Quebec’s Civil Code that loosened restrictions on babies’ surnames.

rare baby names, quebec baby names, baby name graph

This claim makes me wish the article had included data from the ’60s and ’70s. I don’t doubt that parents felt liberated by the law change, but I do suspect that unique names were already on the rise by 1981.

For more sets of rankings, check out the name rankings category.

Source: Retraite Québec – List of Baby Names

Popular Baby Names in Northern Ireland, 2016

According to data released on April 27 by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland in 2016 were Emily and James.

Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Emily, 237 baby girls
2. Grace, 198
3. Olivia, 191
4. Anna, 164
5. Sophie, 155
6. Lily, 151
7. Amelia, 150
8. Ella, 142
9. Ava, 136
10. Sophia, 135

Boy Names
1. James, 254 baby boys
2. Jack, 243
3. Oliver, 207
4. Charlie, 204
5. Noah, 201
6. Harry, 188
7. Jacob, 173
8. Daniel, 159
9. Matthew, 142
10. Alfie, 139

In the the girls’ top ten, Lily and Sophia replace Aoife and Lucy. In the boys’ top ten, Jacob and Alfie replace Thomas and Jake.

The top names in the Republic of Ireland in 2016 were also Emily and James.

Here are the 2015 rankings for Northern Ireland.

Source: Baby Names – NISRA

Popular Baby Names in Jersey, 2014-2016

jersey, orgueil, goreyAccording to the States of Jersey Child Health System, the most popular baby names on the island of Jersey (the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel) from 2014 to 2016 were Emily and Oliver.

Here are Jersey’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2014-2016:

Girl Names
1. Emily
2. Mia
3. Daisy
4. Olivia
5. Ava (tie)
5. Isabella (tie)
7. Freya
8. Amelia (3-way tie)
8. Grace (3-way tie)
8. Jessica (3-way tie)

Boy Names
1. Oliver
2. Jack
3. Ethan (3-way tie)
3. James (3-way tie)
3. Thomas (3-way tie)
6. Alexander (tie)
6. Charlie (tie)
8. Harry (4-way tie)
8. Leo (4-way tie)
8. Theo (4-way tie)
8. William (4-way tie)

Roughly 1,000 babies are born on the island per year, so these rankings account for about 3,000 babies overall.

Here’s some information on historically popular names in Jersey. The current top names are English names, but only because the island switched to speaking English relatively recently. For hundreds of years the islanders spoke Norman languages (French and/or Jèrriais, the local dialect) so the top names would have been French.

Sources: Jersey’s most popular baby names revealed, Health Profile for Jersey 2016, Island language in a sea of change

Top Dog and Cat Names in San Diego, 2016

dog, catIn August of 2016, the San Diego County Department of Animal Services (SDDAC) released lists of the most popular names for licensed dogs and licensed cats in the region.

The top ten dog names were…

1. Bella
2. Max
3. Buddy
4. Lucy
5. Daisy
6. Charlie
7. Molly
8. Bailey
9. Roxy
10. Lola

Bella was also #1 on the 2015 list. In the top 10, Lola replaced Maggie. Just outside the top 10 were Rocky, Coco, Maggie, Sadie and Jack.

And the top ten cat names were…

1. Kitty
2. Tiger
3. Smokey
4. Baby
5. Princess
6. Tigger
7. Shadow
8. Lucy
9. Max
10. Missy

The rather unimaginative “Kitty” was also the top pick in 2015. Princess and Missy replaced Sassy and Cleo in the top 10. Just outside the top 10 were Oreo, Charlie, Blackie, Midnight and Bella.

Here are San Diego’s top baby names for 2016, if you’d like to throw in yet another species.

Sources: Top Dog Names in San Diego County, Top Cat Names in San Diego County