How popular is the baby name Charlotte 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 Charlotte.

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Popularity of the baby name Charlotte


Posts that mention the name Charlotte

Dogs named Carlo, thanks to “Jane Eyre”

dog, pointer

Did you know that Emily Dickinson got a dog in 1849 and named him Carlo after the dog in the novel Jane Eyre (1847)?

The fictional dog created by Charlotte Bronte was a pointer, while the nonfictional dog owned by Emily Dickinson was likely a brown Newfoundland.

Many other dogs (both real and fictional) were named Carlo around this time as well, no doubt due to the influence of Jane Eyre.

At least five of the dogs residing in Amherst, Massachusetts (Dickinson’s hometown) in 1858 were named Carlo, for instance.

Dogs named Carlo were also featured in books such as Cranford (1851) by Elizabeth Gaskell and Reveries of a Bachelor (1850) by “Ik Marvel” (pseudonym of Donald Grant Mitchell).

Source: Carlo (1849-1966), dog – Emily Dickinson Museum

Image: Adapted from Kenzo cazando en sanbernardo (public domain)

[Latest update: Apr. 2024]

Top baby names in Hertfordshire (England), 2010

In Hertfordshire, the top ten baby boy names of 2010 were Jack, Oliver, Daniel, Thomas, Joshua, Alexander, Charlie, Harry, George and Joseph.

The top ten baby girl names were Isabelle, Daisy, Charlotte, Sophie, Sienna, Summer, Megan, Grace, Lucy and Olivia.

Unusual names like Hunni Princess, Blossom Bluebell and Ged Spartacus were also bestowed.

Sources: Ged Spartacus and Angel J among unusual baby names registered by Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire welcomes Ged Spartacus and Storm (news release, now offline)

Which baby names are banned in Portugal?

Belém Tower, Portugal
Belém Tower

Did you know that certain baby names are illegal in the European country of Portugal?

The Portuguese government maintains an 80-page list of baby names — a mix of the permitted and the forbidden. Here are some of the names (and weirdly specific name combinations) Portuguese parents are not allowed to give their babies:

  • Aidan
  • Albuquerque
  • Allan Brett
  • Anouchka
  • Antoinette
  • Argo Demetrius
  • Ashanti
  • Ashley
  • Babilónia
  • Ben-Hur
  • Brunei
  • Bruce
  • Bryan
  • Charlotte
  • Cheyenne
  • Claret
  • Claude
  • Coltrane (jazz musician)
  • Brilhante (Portuguese for “brilliant”)
  • Britta Nórdica
  • Chianda Kady
  • Dmitri, Dmitriy, Dmitro
  • Do Sorriso
  • Douglas
  • Dylan
  • Farley
  • Faruk
  • Fraternidade
  • Giana Lai
  • Heidi
  • Hendrix
  • Imperatriz
  • Ivanhoe (19th-century novel)
  • Jaiantcumar
  • Jenny
  • Jimmy
  • Jivago (form of Zhivago)
  • Kathleen
  • Kennedy
  • Leeyang
  • Loïc
  • Logan
  • Mabel
  • Magnifica
  • Mar e Sol (Portuguese for “sea and sun”)
  • Marx
  • Mary Ann
  • Melbournia
  • Nazareth Fernandes
  • Nirvana
  • Olaf
  • Pablo
  • Piombina (Italian town Piombino)
  • Portugal
  • Rihanna
  • Rosa Luxemburgo
  • Samora Machel
  • Sandokan (fictional pirate Sandokan)
  • Satélite
  • Sayonara (Japanese for “goodbye”)
  • Tamagnini (Italian surname)
  • Trebaruna (Lusitanian deity)
  • Vasconcelos (Portuguese surname)
  • Viking
  • Virtuosa
  • Viterbo (Italian town)
  • Zingara (Italian for “gypsy”)

Some are foreign names/words, some are locations, some refer to pop culture, and so forth.

Many of the no-no names are simply in the wrong form (according to the government). For instance, parents can use…

  • Aarão, but not Aaron
  • Agata, but not Agatha
  • Baltasar, but not Baltazar
  • Daisi, but not Daisy
  • Dulce do Amparo, but not Dulce Amparo
  • Kévim, but not Kevin
  • Hervé, but not Hervê or Herve (reminds me of the Zöé controversy)
  • Maria de Lurdes, but not Maria de Lourdes
  • Martina, but not Martine
  • Mónica, but not Monique
  • Nuno, or Nuno de Santa Maria, or Nuno do Carmo (Carmelite), but not Nuno Álvares.

To see all the names for yourself, download the Lista de Nomes from the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado.

Image: Adapted from Tower of Belem by Errabee under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Popular baby names in New Zealand, 2010

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

The 100 most popular baby boy and baby girl names in New Zealand have been released. The winners for 2010 were Sophie (again) and Liam (beating previous #1 Jack).

Here are the top 10 lists…

Girl Names

  1. Sophie, 377 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 335
  3. Ruby, 322
  4. Charlotte, 305
  5. Isabella, 286
  6. Lily, 281
  7. Ella, 277
  8. Chloe, 262
  9. Emily, 232
  10. Emma, 228

Boy Names

  • Liam, 374 baby boys
  • James, 333
  • Oliver, 327
  • Jack, 325
  • William, 320
  • Joshua, 298
  • Benjamin, 286
  • Jacob, 285
  • Samuel, 282
  • Lucas, 271

Two interesting names I noticed in the top 100 were Sione and Pippa:

  • Sione, ranked 92nd for boys, seems to be a Tongan name. (There’s no s-sound in Maori.) In the trailer for the film Sione’s Wedding (2006) [vid], you can hear Sione at 0:07, 0:28 and 1:52. Sounds like see-O-nay or see-O-nee, or something in between.
  • Pippa, ranked 95th for girls, is a contraction/diminutive of Philippa. The popularity of this one might be attributable to New Zealand television personality Pippa Wetzell.

Just for reference, New Zealand has roughly 4.3 million residents. So, population-wise, it’s about the same size as Kentucky.

Source: The Department of Internal Affairs – New Zealand Government

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)