Charley
Charley is given to both girls and boys: 356 girls and 87 boys were given it in 2025 (#760 among girls’ names and #1,827 among boys’, #1,280 among all names counting both); 35,321 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Charley every year since 1987.
An estimated 17,300 Americans named Charley and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (49% of everyone recorded); the median is 15 years old and half are between 8 and 39.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Charley by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Charley mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Charley is “a diminutive of the male given name Charles.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given names Charlotte and Charlene.”
/ˈt͡ʃɑː(ɹ).li/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Charley?
#1,827 among boys’ names, 2025
Charley fell from #1,781 in 2015 to #1,827 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 44.3 to 50.9 per million.
719 babies in 2014, the peak
Charley peaked in 2014, when 719 babies were given it (78 boys, #1,874 among boys’ names). The 443 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 62% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 356 | #760 | 87 | #1,827 |
| 2024 | 386 | #730 | 88 | #1,835 |
| 2023 | 388 | #725 | 96 | #1,729 |
| 2022 | 421 | #700 | 86 | #1,855 |
| 2021 | 480 | #618 | 84 | #1,841 |
| 2020 | 561 | #537 | 83 | #1,801 |
| 2019 | 552 | #551 | 86 | #1,791 |
| 2018 | 553 | #563 | 100 | #1,626 |
| 2017 | 611 | #514 | 96 | #1,649 |
| 2016 | 560 | #558 | 79 | #1,878 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 604 | #520 | 85 | #1,781 |
| 2014 | 641 | #489 | 78 | #1,874 |
| 2013 | 578 | #515 | 89 | #1,674 |
| 2012 | 484 | #597 | 75 | #1,910 |
| 2011 | 462 | #626 | 85 | #1,731 |
| 2010 | 324 | #828 | 92 | #1,678 |
| 2009 | 279 | #959 | 92 | #1,702 |
| 2008 | 263 | #1,006 | 77 | #1,878 |
| 2007 | 239 | #1,089 | 80 | #1,815 |
| 2006 | 226 | #1,108 | 66 | #2,014 |
| 2005 | 192 | #1,192 | 69 | #1,852 |
| 2004 | 168 | #1,273 | 74 | #1,717 |
| 2003 | 122 | #1,581 | 47 | #2,277 |
| 2002 | 93 | #1,899 | 45 | #2,295 |
| 2001 | 73 | #2,213 | 37 | #2,566 |
| 2000 | 73 | #2,173 | 44 | #2,222 |
| 1999 | 78 | #1,998 | 42 | #2,199 |
| 1998 | 90 | #1,750 | 39 | #2,279 |
| 1997 | 80 | #1,846 | 33 | #2,458 |
| 1996 | 69 | #2,019 | 49 | #1,840 |
| 1995 | 60 | #2,216 | 48 | #1,802 |
| 1994 | 60 | #2,210 | 43 | #1,927 |
| 1993 | 52 | #2,416 | 42 | #1,939 |
| 1992 | 59 | #2,240 | 38 | #2,047 |
| 1991 | 51 | #2,448 | 50 | #1,648 |
| 1990 | 56 | #2,256 | 56 | #1,514 |
| 1989 | 63 | #1,997 | 47 | #1,656 |
| 1988 | 62 | #1,950 | 51 | #1,480 |
| 1987 | 63 | #1,840 | 61 | #1,249 |
| 1986 | 54 | #2,003 | 63 | #1,203 |
| 1985 | 46 | #2,229 | 50 | #1,371 |
| 1984 | 26 | #3,242 | 64 | #1,134 |
| 1983 | 19 | #3,971 | 55 | #1,241 |
| 1982 | 17 | #4,374 | 72 | #1,073 |
| 1981 | 23 | #3,542 | 84 | #987 |
| 1980 | 15 | #4,760 | 78 | #1,024 |
| 1979 | 17 | #4,254 | 71 | #1,049 |
| 1978 | 18 | #3,938 | 70 | #1,041 |
| 1977 | 14 | #4,693 | 75 | #992 |
| 1976 | 11 | #5,263 | 57 | #1,126 |
| 1975 | 9 | #6,041 | 65 | #1,020 |
| 1974 | under 5 | 72 | #963 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 66 | #994 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 73 | #944 | |
| 1971 | 6 | #7,512 | 84 | #888 |
| 1970 | under 5 | 94 | #833 | |
| 1969 | under 5 | 96 | #790 | |
| 1968 | 6 | #6,358 | 81 | #821 |
| 1967 | under 5 | 76 | #822 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 83 | #800 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 93 | #766 | |
| 1964 | 5 | #6,898 | 101 | #760 |
| 1963 | under 5 | 149 | #641 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 110 | #730 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 98 | #775 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 134 | #676 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 137 | #656 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 130 | #668 | |
| 1957 | 9 | #4,252 | 125 | #681 |
| 1956 | under 5 | 140 | #640 | |
| 1955 | 7 | #4,807 | 140 | #628 |
| 1954 | 5 | #5,857 | 129 | #645 |
| 1953 | 6 | #5,128 | 138 | #617 |
| 1952 | 6 | #4,996 | 156 | #560 |
| 1951 | 10 | #3,517 | 144 | #577 |
| 1950 | 9 | #3,705 | 175 | #505 |
| 1949 | 11 | #3,215 | 173 | #506 |
| 1948 | 10 | #3,385 | 161 | #521 |
| 1947 | 10 | #3,482 | 188 | #490 |
| 1946 | under 5 | 159 | #510 | |
| 1945 | 8 | #3,430 | 156 | #480 |
| 1944 | 12 | #2,644 | 200 | #432 |
| 1943 | 19 | #2,001 | 208 | #432 |
| 1942 | 6 | #4,195 | 198 | #439 |
| 1941 | 13 | #2,418 | 208 | #402 |
| 1940 | 13 | #2,319 | 201 | #404 |
| 1939 | 10 | #2,757 | 192 | #411 |
| 1938 | 13 | #2,357 | 236 | #362 |
| 1937 | 13 | #2,336 | 188 | #414 |
| 1936 | 11 | #2,547 | 238 | #350 |
| 1935 | 19 | #1,793 | 240 | #355 |
| 1934 | 14 | #2,203 | 254 | #343 |
| 1933 | 9 | #2,910 | 246 | #342 |
| 1932 | 18 | #1,885 | 282 | #328 |
| 1931 | 13 | #2,322 | 258 | #340 |
| 1930 | 11 | #2,712 | 289 | #323 |
| 1929 | 18 | #1,959 | 323 | #307 |
| 1928 | 17 | #2,105 | 321 | #315 |
| 1927 | 14 | #2,445 | 365 | #303 |
| 1926 | 12 | #2,726 | 398 | #288 |
| 1925 | 22 | #1,853 | 350 | #303 |
| 1924 | 16 | #2,327 | 430 | #276 |
| 1923 | 11 | #2,949 | 421 | #277 |
| 1922 | 9 | #3,416 | 435 | #273 |
| 1921 | 16 | #2,302 | 456 | #263 |
| 1920 | 18 | #2,087 | 485 | #249 |
| 1919 | 14 | #2,403 | 470 | #243 |
| 1918 | 8 | #3,559 | 462 | #247 |
| 1917 | 12 | #2,580 | 457 | #237 |
| 1916 | 16 | #2,045 | 461 | #230 |
| 1915 | 12 | #2,414 | 414 | #239 |
| 1914 | 9 | #2,461 | 359 | #224 |
| 1913 | under 5 | 278 | #225 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 288 | #200 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 160 | #193 | |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,797 | 181 | #167 |
| 1909 | 5 | #2,264 | 147 | #166 |
| 1908 | under 5 | 155 | #153 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 164 | #142 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 157 | #131 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 168 | #130 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 166 | #127 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 126 | #148 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 168 | #113 | |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,365 | 158 | #108 |
| 1900 | under 5 | 224 | #103 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 120 | #132 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 170 | #110 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 156 | #112 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 168 | #111 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 178 | #105 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 186 | #99 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 191 | #94 | |
| 1892 | under 5 | 210 | #92 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 193 | #82 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 183 | #93 | |
| 1889 | under 5 | 199 | #88 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 254 | #77 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 221 | #75 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 214 | #81 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 285 | #65 | |
| 1884 | under 5 | 290 | #63 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 254 | #63 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 262 | #67 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 266 | #62 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 305 | #59 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Charley a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 35,321 Americans recorded as Charley, 32% are girls and 68% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Charley: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Charley, and how old are they?
17,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 49% of the 35,321 Americans ever recorded as Charley. The median Charley alive today is 15 years old; half are between 8 and 39.
The 2020 Census counted 14,039 people named Charley (7,677 women and girls, 6,362 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 15,511 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 787 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,800 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,180 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,590 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,200 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7,780 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Charley born?
The states with the most babies named Charley are Texas, California and Florida, with 26% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 38 | #1,674 | 1.2× |
| California | 27 | #2,250 | 0.6× |
| Florida | 26 | #1,502 | 0.7× |
| New York | 20 | #1,812 | 0.2× |
| Louisiana | 14 | #797 | 2.5× |
| Tennessee | 14 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 13 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| South Carolina | 13 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 12 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Colorado | 12 | not ranked | 0.7× |
Where Charley is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Charley is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 3.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Charley with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 261,021 babies since 1880, Charley is the second most given (14% of them). In 2025 it was given to 443 of their 5,063 babies (8.7%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
More about Charley and names like it
- Compare Charley and CharlieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sCharley peaked in 2014.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Charley since 1910.
- The top names of 2014The year the most babies were named Charley.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Charley alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with CMost given first.