Update: Charles bounced back a bit and is ranked at 51 for the year 2014.
Charles means "man" or "free man" and originated from Europe as early as 700 A.D. Translations occur in nearly every language, and the it has many variants. Charles has been the name of countless noblemen and several kings and Holy Roman Emperors. It gained popularity in Britain when King Charles I reigned during the 17th century.
Variations
If you love the name Charles and want people to use the full name, it will take a lot of conditioning! Few go by Charles these days, and it's especially difficult to think of using the full name for a baby or child. Though Charles has a royal quality, its variants are much more down to earth. They include:
- Charlie or Charley
- Chuck (more thoughts on this one below)
- Chip
- Chick (I do not kid)
- Carl
- Chaz or Chas
- Charlton
Chuck has been used a lot lately in the entertainment world as a name for a comical leading man. It is certainly lacking in elegance and lends itself to nicknames such as "up Chuck" "Chuck E. Cheese" and worse. Perhaps that's why it was used in the TV series Chuck, or the movies Good Luck Chuck and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. These characters are likeable but also humorous and quirky for one reason or another.
Famous men & celebrities named Charles
- Charles Dickens
- Charles Schultz
- Charlie Chaplin
- Charles Darwin
- Charles Nelson Reilly
- The Prince of Wales
- Charles Stanley
- Charlie Sheen
- Charles Barkely
- Chuck Norris
lol, you know I find names are a funny thing at times. Certain names seem to come and go in waves. Like our 2 year old, we named him Logan, because both my husband and I coming from large families no one was named Logan and when looked up it wasn't a name everyone had. Now that we have named our son Logan, we have met so many Logan's from ages 1-10 it is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat happens too often! You were just on the cusp of a naming trend and didn't know it. :)
ReplyDelete