The surname Charles
A patronymic surname, carried by 61,211 people in the United States.
Pronounced /t͡ʃɑɹlz/ 1 syllable Soundex C642 Also a first name
Origin
From French Charles, from Old French Charles, Carles, from Latin Carolus, from and also reinfluenced by Frankish and Old High German Karl, from Proto-Germanic *karilaz (“free man”); compare the English word churl and the German Kerl. In reference to the Ecuadorian island, a clipping of the original name King Charles's Island, granted in honor of Charles II of England.
Charles is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 61,211 people named Charles in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,044 Americans. That is up 19% since 2000, when the Census counted 51,518.
Who is named Charles
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
53% of people named Charles identified as Black (not Hispanic), 34% as white (not Hispanic) and 7.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- Black (not Hispanic) 53%
- White (not Hispanic) 34%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 7.9%
- Two or more races 2.4%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 2.1%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0%
Famous Charless
25 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Josh CharlesAmerican actor, born 1971
- Tina CharlesAmerican basketball player (born 1988)
- Ezzard CharlesAmerican boxer (1921–1975)
- Max CharlesAmerican actor (born 2003)
- Annette CharlesAmerican actress, 1948–2011
- Larry CharlesAmerican television writer, director and producer, born 1956
- Gaius CharlesAmerican actor, born 1983
- Bobby CharlesAmerican singer-songwriter, 1938–2010
- Daedra CharlesAmerican basketball player (1968–2018)
- Teddy CharlesAmerican jazz musician and composer (1928–2012)
- Howard CharlesBritish actor, born 1983
- Craig CharlesBritish actor (born 1964)
Notable Charless come mostly from the United States (17), the United Kingdom (6) and Antigua and Barbuda (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Surnames that sound like Charles
Charles has the Soundex code C642, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C642.
Questions
- Where does the surname Charles come from?
- From French Charles, from Old French Charles, Carles, from Latin Carolus, from and also reinfluenced by Frankish and Old High German Karl, from Proto-Germanic *karilaz (“free man”); compare the English word churl and the German Kerl. In reference to the Ecuadorian island, a clipping of the…
- How common is the surname Charles?
- 61,211 people in the United States had the surname Charles in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,044 Americans. It ranked 548th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Charles?
- In the 2010 Census, 53% of people named Charles identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 34% as white (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Charles?
- Josh Charles, American actor, followed by Tina Charles.
- Where is the surname Charles most common?
- Wikidata records people named Charles in the United States, the United Kingdom and Antigua and Barbuda and 1 other country.
- How do you pronounce Charles?
- Charles is /t͡ʃɑɹlz/, one syllable.
- What type of surname is Charles?
- Charles is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
- Is the surname Charles getting more or less common?
- More common. 51,518 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 61,211 in 2010, up 19%.
- Is Charles also a first name?
- Yes. Charles is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.