girl's name
Charline
shar-LEEN
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 40,973
France
#268
2025 births
Charline means free man, and the feminine ending does not change that — the Germanic karl named a peasant freeholder, so the name descends from a word for a commoner rather than a noble.
- Charline is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1990, when 1,040 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 2,876 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Charline over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 185 |
| 1910s | 300 |
| 1920s | 900 |
| 1930s | 1,260 |
| 1940s | 1,425 |
| 1950s | 1,510 |
| 1960s | 600 |
| 1970s | 725 |
| 1980s | 5,850 |
| 1990s | 8,360 |
| 2000s | 5,925 |
| 2010s | 5,495 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,805 |
What Charline means
Charline means a free man, carried from Charles. The Germanic karl described a non-noble landholder, which is the reverse of what the name later came to signal.
Where Charline comes from
Charline is a French feminine of Charles, from the Germanic karl — a free man, specifically a commoner with land. Charlemagne's Latin name, Carolus Magnus, made it royal across Europe and it entered the Slavic languages as the ordinary word for a king. The English ceorl went the other way into churl. Charley and Carlton, elsewhere on this site, sit on the two opposite ends of that same word.
Charline in use
Charline peaked in France in 1990, when 1,040 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 268th in France on 205 births and 14668th in the United States on 6, across 40,973 lifetime births in three of the seven markets we track. The American series peaks separately in 1928 on 164 births, sixty-two years before the French one.
How popular is Charline?
In 2025, Charline was given to 205 babies in France, ranking #268 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Charline is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Charline
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Charline also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Charline over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Charline in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Charline
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Charline — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Charline
What does the name Charline mean?
A free man — the Germanic karl, through Charles.
Did karl mean a nobleman?
The opposite. It named a peasant freeholder; English ceorl became churl.
Is Carlton related?
Yes — the settlement of the free peasants, from the same root.
Where is Charline used?
France at 268th, essentially exclusively.
How popular is the name Charline?
In 2025, Charline was given to 205 babies in France, ranking #268 that year. It is a rare choice.
Is Charline a girl's or a boy's name?
Charline is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Charline?
Charline has 2 syllables.
When was Charline most popular?
Charline peaked in 1990, when 1,040 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Charline a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Charline currently ranks #268 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.