Charlyne
A feminine name of French origin meaning "free woman".
Name Census estimates that about 498 living Americans carry the first name Charlyne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charlyne today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charlyne births was 1946 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charlyne. 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
498
~ 1 in 688,262 Americans
Peak year
1946
34 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2014 SSA rank
#17,119
Tracked since 1914
Census
Charlyne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 723 people with the first name Charlyne, which placed it at #15,793 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
#15,793
National first-name rank
People counted
723
723 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charlyne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charlyne is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.4%). 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 Charlyne 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 Charlyne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.4% · 422
- Black or African American23.7% · 171
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.4% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 45
- Two or more races2.4% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7
Popularity
Charlyne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charlyne from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 250 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charlyne 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 Charlyne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charlynes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Charlyne, while Georgia, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Charlyne
The name Charlyne is a feminine given name with roots in the French language. It is believed to have originated as a combination of the French names Charles and Arlene, which were both derived from the Germanic name Karl, meaning "free man."
The earliest known record of the name Charlyne dates back to the 19th century, although its exact origin remains uncertain. One theory suggests that it may have been created as a variant of the name Charlene, which itself was a French diminutive of the male name Charles.
In terms of historical references, the name Charlyne does not appear to have any significant mentions in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. However, there have been several notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Charlyne was Charlyne Woodard, an American actress born in 1953. She is known for her roles in films such as "Lean on Me" (1989) and "Shadowboxer" (2005).
Another notable figure was Charlyne Yi, an American actress, comedian, and musician born in 1986. She gained recognition for her roles in films like "Knocked Up" (2007) and "This Is 40" (2012), as well as for her work in the television series "House" (2008-2009).
In the realm of sports, Charlyne Lafont-Rapnouil, a French cyclist born in 1987, has made a name for herself. She has competed in several major cycling events, including the Olympic Games and the UCI Road World Championships.
Charlyne Woodruff, an American basketball player born in 1963, was a standout athlete during her college career at the University of Houston. She later played professionally in the Women's Basketball Association (WBA) and coached at various levels.
Lastly, Charlyne Hunter-Gault, an American journalist and author born in 1942, has had a distinguished career spanning several decades. She worked as a correspondent for various news organizations, including PBS and NPR, and has authored several books on African American history and culture.
While the name Charlyne may not have a rich historical background, these individuals have contributed to its recognition and significance across various fields, including entertainment, sports, and journalism.
People
Charlyne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charlyne 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
Charlyne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charlyne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 498 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charlyne 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 688,262 US residents.
Is Charlyne a common name?
We classify Charlyne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,132 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charlyne most popular?
The single biggest year for Charlyne was 1946, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charlyne is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charlyne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 723 people with the name Charlyne, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,793 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 Charlyne 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 Charlyne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charlyne appears almost entirely female. Of the 722 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 Charlyne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charlyne is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.4%). 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 Charlyne most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Charlyne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.4% (422 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 Charlyne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charlyne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charlyne 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 Charlyne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charlyne 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 Charlyne 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 Americans are named Charlyne?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.