Baby Name Lottie: The Best of Popular Charlotte and Sadie

The baby name Lottie mixes vintage nickname style with ties to a chart-topping favorite.

Thanks to Ella for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME LOTTIE MEAN?

To talk about the meaning of the name Lottie, it’s essential to begin with Charlotte.

The French feminine form of Charles, Charlotte shares the meaning “free man.”

A string of kings called Charles ruled France in the early Middle Ages. (You might’ve heard of Charlemagne, Charles the Great.) Charlot is the masculine diminutive form; add an extra -te and it’s feminine.

While the name Charlotte is traditional, it first spread across Europe around the fourteenth century, and wasn’t widely heard until the nineteenth century.

Both Charlotte and Lottie – as well as Charlotte-called-Lottie – enjoyed a spike of popularity during the 1800s. And some of those baby girls grew up to make their mark.

We can list plenty of them. There’s author Charlotte Brontë, of course. As well as a few royals – back to them in a minute.

FAMOUS WOMEN CALLED LOTTIE

Famous bearers of the name Lottie include:

• Born Carlotta Tompkins in 1844 to a respectable family, Lottie Deno would grow up to become a famous – and successful – gambler in Texas and New Mexico. The poker player’s new surname wasn’t a result of marriage; it’s said that “deno” came from the Spanish word dinero – money.
• The daughter of German immigrants born in 1867, Clotilde Brielmaier also became known as Lottie. She’s remembered as a successful painter of religious subjects, and may have been the first female artist to establish her own studio in the US.
• Lottie Dod was born in 1871, and went on to win Wimbledon five times. The champion tennis player also competed in golf, field hockey, and even won a silver Olympic medal in women’s archery.
• One of the few actresses to make the leap from silent film to talkies, Lottie Williams was born in 1874, and would make over 70 films over the course of her long career.
• Born in 1876, Lottie Blake became a medical doctor – the first black female doctor in Alabama, and a pioneer in missionary medical work, serving in Panama and Haiti, as well as in the United States.
• Lottie O’Neill, born in 1878 and elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1922, serving for four decades.
• In 1893, Lottie Pickford was born. Sister to early Hollywood icon Mary Pickford, Lottie also went into acting. She was named for her mother, Charlotte.

Also worth noting: in Scandinavian languages, as well as German and Dutch, Lottie is spelled Lotte and sometimes Lotti. The nickname Lotta is also heard.

In the late 1800s, the baby name Lottie – as well as the name Charlotte – was common. The US Social Security Administration reports name popularity data from 1880 onward. And while numbers from those early years are less reliable, it appears that Lottie was more popular than Charlotte in at least some of those years.

LOTTIE MOON

While many of the nineteenth century Lotties were women of accomplishment, there’s one that may still come to mind: missionary Lottie Moon.

Born in 1840 in Virginia, she was well-educated, earning a master’s degree at a time few women – particularly Southern women – had done so.

A member of the Southern Baptist church, she became a teacher, and then a missionary to China. Single women didn’t often take on such roles, but Moon’s sister, Edmonia, had recently left for the country. Lottie followed, learned Chinese, and convinced the entire Southern Baptist hierarchy to expand women’s roles in the field.

Her name lives on in Southern Baptist circles through the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

LISA and LOTTIE

Outside of Southern Baptist circles, though, the baby name Lottie slid towards obscurity.

There were still Charlottes, of course. But by the 1970s, the classic name had left the US Top 200. And Lottie was out of the Top 1000 entirely.

The name might’ve gotten a boost from Disney.

Back in 1942, German author Erich Kastner wrote a tale of Das doppelte Lottchen – The Double Lottie. Identical twin sisters Lisa and Lottie were separated by their divorcing parents in infancy. They meet, by chance, at summer camp and decide to switch places. All ends happily, with the girls reuniting their parents in the process.

Sound familiar? In 1961, Disney adapted the book as The Parent Trap. Hayley Mills starred as both sisters – but they were renamed Sharon and Susan.

It was a smash hit. Sequels followed, as did a 1998 reboot starring Lindsay Lohan. This time, though, the sisters are Hallie and Annie.

So despite the success of both movies, there was no boost for the first name Lottie.

DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET

In England, you might think of something different – The Duchess of Duke Street, a BBC period drama set in turn-of-the-century London. The “duchess” in the story is a humbly-born woman who works her way up to become proprietor of a fashionable hotel.

Along the way, Louisa – the duchess – gives birth to daughter Lottie, who is adopted by another couple. Lottie discovers the truth, though, and Louisa pays to educate her.

The name would’ve sounded exactly right for the show’s turn-of-the-century setting. But during its 1976 to 1977 run, very few English parents were naming their daughters Lottie.

Decades later, English author Jacqueline Wilson published The Lottie Project in 1997. Her novel focused on a schoolgirl named Charlotte. She prefers the nickname Charlie. But when she ends up writing about a Victorian girl her own age for a school project? Charlie chooses to name her Lottie. 

Wilson’s story showcases the flexibility of name, and reminds us how the preferred nickname shifts across eras.

Also noteworthy: by the late 1990s, the popularity of the name Lottie was increasing in England. Charlotte was already established as a popular choice in England and elsewhere in English-speaking countries … but not quite trending in the US just yet.

THE PRINCESS and THE FROG

The US is warming to the name Charlotte, though, by the year 2004.

That’s when we meet Disney’s first princess of color, The Princess and the Frog’s aspiring chef Tiana, who also happens to spend some time as a frog and marry Prince Naveen along the way.

Released in 2004, the New Orleans-set animated movie also introduced us to the wealthy debutante Charlotte “Lottie” La Bouff, hard-working Tiana’s best friend.

Disney movies remain in constant replay for our children, but Tiana’s story is also enjoying a renaissance. A ride dedicated to The Princess and the Frog has recently opened at both Disney parks in the US. In her signature green dress, she’s a popular character to meet, too. 

Fictional characters from movies often fade quickly, but not when the story is very much alive for every new generation.

PRINCESS CHARLOTTE

By the time Will and Kate welcomed their second child, the girl’s name Charlotte was a Top 25 choice in the United Kingdom, and a Top Ten favorite in the US.

No question, though, that the 2015 birth of Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge – now Wales – helped raise the name’s profile.

In real life, the name entered the British royal family tree thanks to German-born princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She married King George III in 1761.

More recently, Bridgerton introduced us to a fictional version of this Queen Charlotte, cementing the name’s status as thoroughly royal.

In recent years, it’s been rumored that Kate calls her daughter Lottie, and she’s been heard using the nickname in public.

Of course, Lottie sounds different in British English. It’s a little crisper, with Ts enunciated. American Ts tend to sound more like Ds – Loddie.

Perhaps that’s why the most common short form of the popular name is Charlie instead – at least in the US.

In fact, variations of Charlie – including Charli, Charlee, Charleigh, and Charley – all chart in the US Top 1000 as independent given names, too.

LOTTIE IN YELLOWJACKETS

In November 2021, Yellowjackets debuted on Showtime. It’s the story of a girls’ soccer team flying to a tournament when it crashes. The survivors endure nineteenth months surviving in the Canadian wilderness before they’re rescued.

The story jumps between their harrowing struggle for survival as teenagers and their adult lives, still very much shaped by their experience.

It’s a dark and twisted story, but it’s also a smash hit. And one of the soccer players who makes it from the crash to the present day? Her name is Lottie.

There’s nothing like a television series to put a name on parents’ short lists.

A third season is expected in 2025.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME LOTTIE?

From the late 1800s through the 1950s, the baby name Lottie routinely appeared in the US Top 1000. In fact, the name held a Top 100 rank around the turn of the twentieth century.

It fell out of favor, leaving the charts in midcentury America.

By the 1990s, it was almost extinct.

But the rapid rise of Charlotte, combined with a popular princess and a television character all helped push the baby Lottie back into the spotlight. Over the last five years, the name’s use increased quickly, until Lottie returned to the charts in 2022. As of 2023, Lottie ranked #775 in the US.

Still, gauging the popularity of the name Lottie is a challenge. Some of those Charlottes might be called Lottie – or not.

NAMES LIKE SADIE and MILLIE

Another factor? We’re wild about vintage, nickname-style names. It’s not just Lottie. Goldie and Birdie are relatively fresh to the popularity rankings, too. And favorites like Sadie, Hattie, Millie, Winnie, and Frankie are all choices parents love. It’s a trend that hasn’t slowed.

The names combine timeless appeal with a playful spirit. Lottie is at home in the 2020s and beyond, but also sounds like a nineteenth century miss.

It’s also worth noting that Lottie could be short for other feminine forms of Charles, like Carlotta. There’s also Loretta, a separate name. And Germany gives us Lieselotte, a mash-up of Elisabeth and Charlotte nicknames.

Any name with an L and a strong T sound could potential become Lottie, or even names like Dorothy and Clotilde, mentioned above.

SWEETLY VINTAGE

Overall, the baby name Lottie is a sweetly vintage choice, with plenty of old school charm. Just like Sadie and Millie, it stands on its own now. But the overall image is delicate and gently antique and spirited and lively at the same time.

Watching Lottie from Yellowjackets survive in the wilds of Canada might shift that image a bit. And Princess Charlotte helps brings the nickname into our moment, too.

Now that Lottie has entered the list of the most popular baby girl names in the US, perhaps more parents will embrace this vintage favorite.

What do you think of the baby name Lottie?

First published on June 15, 2023, this post was revised on November 10, 2024.