Charletta
A feminine name derived from Charles, of Germanic origin meaning "free man".
Name Census estimates that about 878 living Americans carry the first name Charletta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charletta today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charletta births was 1968 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charletta. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
878
~ 1 in 390,381 Americans
Peak year
1968
36 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2000 SSA rank
#12,044
Tracked since 1921
Census
Charletta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 841 people with the first name Charletta, which placed it at #14,106 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,106
National first-name rank
People counted
841
841 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charletta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charletta is Black at 74.2%. The next largest groups are White (17.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Charletta described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Charletta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.2% · 624
- White17.0% · 143
- Two or more races5.0% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 3
Popularity
Charletta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charletta from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 260 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charletta by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Charletta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charlettas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Michigan, Texas, Alabama recorded the most babies named Charletta, while Pennsylvania, Ohio, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Charletta
The name Charletta is a feminine form of the masculine name Charles, derived from the Germanic name Karl, meaning "man" or "freeman". It can be traced back to the Old French and Old English forms of the name, such as Charlot and Ceorl.
The name rose to prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly after the reign of Charlemagne, the King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor. Charlemagne, whose name was a Germanized form of Carolus Magnus, meaning "Charles the Great", ruled from 768 to 814 CE and played a significant role in the spread of Christianity throughout Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Charletta can be found in the medieval French text, "Le Roman de la Rose", written in the 13th century. The name also appeared in various religious texts and ecclesiastical records during this period, reflecting its popularity among Christian communities.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Charletta. One such figure was Charletta Mosley (1875-1956), an American educator and activist who played a crucial role in the establishment of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Another prominent Charletta was Charletta Bryce (1919-2008), an Australian politician and the first woman to be elected to the Parliament of Western Australia. She served as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1962 to 1974.
In the world of literature, Charletta Bass (1874-1969) was an American journalist and civil rights activist who founded the influential African American newspaper, The California Eagle, in 1912. Her work played a significant role in advocating for racial equality and social justice.
The name Charletta also gained recognition in the field of sports. Charletta Bellinger (born 1955) was an American track and field athlete who won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Another notable figure was Charletta Sackey (1924-2001), a Ghanaian educator and politician who served as the Deputy Minister of Education and Culture in Ghana from 1979 to 1981.
While the name Charletta has its roots in the Germanic and French languages, it has been embraced across various cultures and societies throughout history, reflecting its enduring popularity and significance.
People
Charletta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charletta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Charletta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charletta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 878 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charletta going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 390,381 US residents.
Is Charletta a common name?
We classify Charletta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,106 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charletta most popular?
The single biggest year for Charletta was 1968, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charletta is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charletta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 841 people with the name Charletta, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,106 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Charletta in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Charletta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charletta appears almost entirely female. Of the 845 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Charletta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charletta is Black at 74.2%. The next largest groups are White (17.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Charletta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Charletta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.2% (624 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Charletta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charletta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charletta in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Charletta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charletta in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Charletta can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Charletta?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.