Charmain
A feminine name derived from the French word "charmante" meaning "charming" or "lovely".
Name Census estimates that about 846 living Americans carry the first name Charmain. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charmain today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charmain births was 1972 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charmain. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Charmain with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
846
~ 1 in 405,147 Americans
Peak year
1972
44 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2002 SSA rank
#15,928
Tracked since 1928
Census
Charmain in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 954 people with the first name Charmain, which placed it at #12,853 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
#12,853
National first-name rank
People counted
954
954 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charmain
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charmain is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (32.7%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Charmain 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 Charmain at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.7% · 493
- White32.7% · 312
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 45
- Two or more races4.5% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 11
Popularity
Charmain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charmain 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 335 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
Charmain 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 Charmain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charmains live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Charmain, while Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Charmain
The name Charmain is a feminine given name of French origin, derived from the Old French word "charmant," meaning "charming" or "delightful." Its roots can be traced back to the Latin word "carminare," which means "to charm" or "to cast a spell."
This name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in France and other parts of Europe. It was often used to describe a woman who was considered to be graceful, elegant, and pleasing in manner or appearance.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Charmain can be found in the medieval French romance "Le Roman de la Rose," written by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun in the 13th century. In this literary work, Charmain is depicted as a beautiful and enchanting character.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Charmain. One of the most famous was Charmain Innes (1901-1972), a British actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions during the early 20th century. Another notable Charmain was Charmain Carr (1942-2016), an American actress best known for her role as Liesl von Trapp in the classic 1965 film "The Sound of Music."
Other notable individuals with the name Charmain include Charmain Shoulders (1928-2019), an American singer and actress who performed on Broadway; Charmain Blanchard (born 1958), a British writer and journalist; and Charmain Naidoo (born 1970), a South African model and television presenter.
While the name Charmain has roots in French and European culture, it has also been embraced in other parts of the world. For instance, Charmain Paleka (born 1966) is a Hawaiian politician and former member of the Hawaii House of Representatives.
Overall, the name Charmain has a rich history and cultural significance, reflecting a sense of charm, grace, and beauty that has endured throughout the ages.
People
Charmain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charmain 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
Charmain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charmain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 846 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charmain 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 405,147 US residents.
Is Charmain a common name?
We classify Charmain as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 995 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charmain most popular?
The single biggest year for Charmain was 1972, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charmain is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charmain in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 954 people with the name Charmain, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,853 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 Charmain 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 Charmain?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charmain appears almost entirely female. Of the 951 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Charmain?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charmain is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (32.7%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Charmain most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Charmain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.7% (493 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 Charmain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charmain a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charmain 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 Charmain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charmain 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 Charmain 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 common is the name Charmain?
You can see how many people share the name Charmain on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.