The baby name Charlotte feels traditional, polished, and ever so royal.
Thanks to Lem for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME CHARLOTTE MEAN?
The baby name Charlotte is sometimes list as French origin, a feminine form of Charles.
That’s correct, but it leaves out a lot.
Charlotte comes from Charles, which started out as the Germanic Karl – man or free man. During the Middle Ages, rulers names were routinely recorded in Latin. And so Karl became Carolus.
The step from Carolus to Charles seems far more logical. Adding an -ot created the French equivalent of Charlie: Charlot. Adding -otte created the feminine name Charlotte.
The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources lists the name as early as 1493. This gives the baby name Charlotte history akin to Elizabeth or Margaret, an evergreen name heard across the ages.
One interesting note: look up “Charlotte name meaning” and you might find something like “free woman.” Or even, more creatively, “womanly.” It’s an attempt to make the meaning fit the gender, but it’s an oversimplification – if not exactly incorrect.
CRUSADER STATE to REIGNING NAME
Despite a long history of use, the baby name Charlotte took a while to catch on in the English-speaking world.
The Normans brought Charles to England, but it took centuries for the feminine forms to become mainstream.
Charlotte appears among the ruling family of Cyprus, making it one of those quirky medieval crusader state names. (Her little sister was Cleopha.)
Slowly the name made its way across Europe. First came Charlotte of Savoy, a fifteenth century Queen of France, named for her grandmother, a Queen of Cyprus.
Russian and German royal family trees include the name.
Eventually, a German princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, married King George III and brought the name to England.
She’s become a 21st century pop culture sensation. Fans of Bridgerton delight in a fictional version of Queen Charlotte presiding over debutante balls and scheming with Lady Danbury.
In real life, George III and Charlotte gave the name to their daughter. She married a German prince.
The future King George IV – son of Queen Charlotte – also gave the name to his firstborn daughter. That princess, Charlotte Augusta, would have ascended to the throne. Except she died in childbirth.
The crown passed to Queen Victoria instead, and the rest is history.
But the name has remained in use, including among British aristocrats and royals.
When the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed their daughter in 2015, it seemed like such a logical choice that the bookies called it in advance. Born Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, she’s now known as Princess Charlotte of Wales, as her father moves one step closer to the throne.
LITERARY and REVOLUTIONARY
This name isn’t all tiaras and state dinners.
The baby name Charlotte also holds a place in literature and history.
Literary Charlottes first:
- Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre.
- Jane Austen use the name, too, perhaps most memorably for Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice.
- Early feminist writer Perkins Gilman is known for The Yellow Wallpaper.
- There’s also enduring the children’s novel Charlotte’s Web. Though, of course, in that last one, Charlotte is the spider, while the girl is named Fern.
- The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is another historical novel aimed at young readers, written by Avi and published in 1990.
On a very different note, in 1793 French revolutionary Charlotte Corday assassinated fellow radical Jean-Paul Marat. Marat became one of the most outspoken members of the revolution, merciless towards his enemies. Corday was among those preferring a more moderate approach. She murdered Marat in an attempt to silence more extreme viewpoints. Instead, her efforts backfired, and she went to her death by guillotine not long after.
Many considered Corday heroic at the time, and she’s been immortalized in stories. There’s even a 1989 opera version of Corday’s tale, composed for the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution.
CHARLOTTE in the CITY
Despite famous people, both real and fictional, by the name, the baby name Charlotte remained in style limbo.
Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte sounds like a lullaby, but it’s actually a 1964 Southern gothic thriller starring Bette Davis. Davis played a young Southern belle in love with a married man. When he meets a gruesome death, everyone assumes she’s responsible. The movie re-opens many years later, with Davis living as a recluse, one with a tenuous grip on reality.
Charlotte no longer sounded like a name for a child, and it continued to decrease in use for decades.
Then came 1998.
HBO original series Sex and the City, based on a Candace Bushnell book, introduced us to Carrie Bradshaw and her three besties: Miranda Hobbes, Samantha Jones, and Charlotte York.
Charlotte serves as the most conservative member of the quartet. Park Avenue-dwelling and marriage-minded, she does everything exactly right. Until her picture-perfect marriage falls apart, and she’s forced to reinvent herself – and find true love along the way. Kristin Davis played the part, and instantly re-invented her character’s name.
By the time the last episode of the series aired in 2004, the baby name Charlotte was firmly back on parents’ radar.
The character continued to evolve through two follow-up movies and the successor series And Just Like That … following the lives of the women in their 50s.
Television gave us more women by the name in the 21st century, including Pretty Little Liars‘ CeCe Drake, also known as Charlotte DeLaurentis.
HOW POPULAR IS THE BABY NAME CHARLOTTE?
Back in the year 1900, the baby name Charlotte ranked #110. Between 1908 and 1952, it charted in the Top 100.
But it never really reached the heights of popularity. Mary, Alice, Elizabeth, Ruth, and other classic names for girls routinely outpaced Charlotte.
In 1998, the year Sex and the City premiered, Charlotte hovered at a frosty #304.
By 2003, though, the name returned to the US Top 200. It broke into the Top 100 in 2008.
The very same week the world met Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge, we also learned that the name had entered the US Top Ten as of calendar year 2014.
In the United States, Charlotte is a steady Top Five favorite, along with names like Olivia, Sophia, Isabella, and Amelia. In some states, it even occupies the #1 spot.
As of 2024, the baby name Charlotte ranks #3 in the US.
It’s also popular across the United Kingdom.
POLISHED CLASSIC
While Charlotte is brief and complete, it’s also quite flexible. Common nicknames include Char, Charley, Charlie, and Lottie – the last one rumored to be Princess Charlotte’s prefered name.
Overall, it’s a polished, classic choice. Charlotte is the perfect name for parents whose preferences run to classic, time-tested favorites – and don’t mind sharing occassionally.
What do you think of the baby name Charlotte?
Originally published on November 2, 2011, this post was revised on August 29, 2018; September 14, 2021; and February 11, 2026.
Charlotte is my all time favourite name. It’s just so beautiful. I used it for my second daughter, who often uses the nickname Lottie. I was actually turned off it for my first daughter as I thought it was to popular only to realise how much I loved it when I was deciding on my second child’s name.
Never once has its rhyming potential been a problem for my daughter.
This is my name! I just found this. I’ve come to love my name now, but was I suppose indifferent to it growing up although I’ve never hated it. It seems to be very popular with the under 30 set and has been number 1 in my country (New Zealand) for the past few years running or at least always in the top 5, so it’s very trendy now. I’m 27 myself and have always known a handful of Charlotte’s, but feel like it’s not TOO common like perhaps Sarah, Sophie or Hannah is. I mostly get called Char from my close friends, I was Charley as a baby with a soft ‘Ch’ and one friend calls me Lottie which I love but get least often.
I’d love to read your write up on Charlotte! Could it get fixed soon, please?
Charlotte was on our shortlist for Baby #1 (we went with Beatrice) and I’m sure it will reappear if we are blessed with another girl. We always wanted to use the nickname Lotte.
Man, I can see Charlotte devolving to “Harlot” in the hands of malicious schoolkids — though I suppose I’d admire said kid’s breadth of vocabulary.
I wouldn’t name a kid Aurelia either, though I love the name, for fear of “Australia”. Kids are ingenious of course, but I try not to make it EASY for them, LOL.
I’m still somewhat surprised that no one ever thought of calling me “Charlotte the Scarlet Harlot”. The only rhyming teases anyone ever seemed to come up with were omelette and piglet. Neither that bad, really. I guess it helped that I was a rather skinny child, so “piglet” was never a reference to weight.
How many people even use the word “harlot” anymore? I don’t think this would ever be a concern of mine in naming a daughter Charlotte. Omelet is an interesting tease-name, Charlotte Vera! Some original kiddos you must have grown up with… 😉
Charlie/Charley seems to be blowing up for the girls these days.
Charlotte’s such a sweet, classic name, and I wish it wasn’t getting so popular! I love Caroline more, though.
My cousins’ grandmother was named Charlotte (Gramma Lottie) and my cousin has rightfully “claimed” the name. Granted she has two boys and I think she’s done having kids… but Charlotte is off limits (and it would sound 200% better with her surname.)
Our dental hygienist is named Charlotte (Char.) My family refers to her as “Hamburger Helper” because while she’s very nice — she’s also a bit rough and you leave feeling like you just went through a meat grinder.
I have a friend from the UK who is a Charlotte: she goes by Larlie, perhaps because Charlie is way too masculine over there.
I really love the name, and I discovered Carlota recently, another form of Charlotte.