Charley

Meaning: Free man
Origin: Germanic — Variant of Charlie

Boy's name · #1827 in the US (2025) · Vintage

18% boys · 82% girls — For most of its history Charley was mostly a boys' name; since around 1989 most babies named Charley have been girls. Charley →

Popularity over time

Charley is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1880, when it ranked #59. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 24,000 boys since 1880, ranked #1827 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Charley is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 7 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Charley ranks in other countries and regions.

#1,447 in Sweden (2025) · #5,137 in England & Wales (2025) · #1,063 in Netherlands (2024) · #2,238 in Canada (2024) · #3,374 in Ecuador (2024) · #3,818 in France (2024) · #516 in Scotland (2018) · #749 in Ireland (2018) · #273 in N. Ireland (2012).

Famous Charleys

Charley Patton — American Delta blues musician (1891–1934)
Charley Pride — American country musician (1934–2020)
Charley Boorman — English television presenter, writer and actor (born 1966)
Charley Crockett — American country musician (born 1984)
Charley Grapewin — American circus performer and actor (1869–1956)

In stories & tradition

Charley Bates — Character from Charles Dickens Oliver Twist
Charley Brewster — Fright Night (film)
Charley Key — The House (book)

What Charleys become

Among 248 notable people named Charley:

Sports figures appear 3.06× more often than among typical names — e.g. Charley Paddock, American athlete and journalist (1900–1943).

Spellings & nicknames

Charley is a rare spelling of Charlie — about 3% of babies given the name are written this way; Charlie itself ranked #145 in 2025.

Similar names: Karl · Roscoe · Karim · Harley · Lou · Marley

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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