Charmelle
Feminine name of French origin that combines elements meaning "charm" and "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Charmelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charmelle today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charmelle births was 1980 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charmelle. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Charmelle. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1980
11 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1991 SSA rank
#11,778
Tracked since 1966
Census
Charmelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 161 people with the first name Charmelle, which placed it at #43,643 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
#43,643
National first-name rank
People counted
161
161 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charmelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charmelle is Black at 78.3%. The next largest groups are White (10.6%) and Hispanic (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 Charmelle 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 Charmelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.3% · 126
- White10.6% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
- Two or more races0.6% · 1
Popularity
Charmelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charmelle from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 35 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charmelle 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 Charmelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Charmelle
The name Charmelle is a feminine given name of French origin, derived from the French word "charme," meaning "charm" or "enchantment." It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, in regions where French was spoken, such as modern-day France, Belgium, and parts of Switzerland.
Historically, the name Charmelle was likely used to describe a woman who possessed a captivating or enchanting presence, charm, or beauty. It may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname or byname before becoming a standalone given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Charmelle can be found in the French manuscript "Anciens Poèmes Français" from the 13th century, where a character named Charmelle is mentioned. However, the name remained relatively uncommon until the late Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Charmelle, although the name has never been widespread. One of the earliest documented cases is Charmelle de Burgundy (1372-1435), a noblewoman and courtier in the court of the Dukes of Burgundy during the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
Another notable figure was Charmelle Dupré (1548-1619), a French poet and writer who gained recognition for her poetry collection "Les Fleurs de Poésie" published in 1586. Her works were celebrated for their lyrical beauty and exploration of themes related to love and nature.
In the 18th century, Charmelle Rousseau (1712-1778) was a French artist and engraver known for her intricate etchings and engravings depicting landscapes and scenes from classical mythology. Her works were highly regarded during her lifetime and are now considered part of the Rococo art movement.
Moving into the 19th century, Charmelle Dumont (1822-1891) was a French feminist and activist who campaigned for women's rights and suffrage. She was a prominent figure in the early women's movement in France and authored several influential works on gender equality.
Lastly, Charmelle Lebrun (1898-1976) was a renowned French ballerina and choreographer who performed with the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet during the early 20th century. She is remembered for her graceful movements and innovative choreographic works that helped shape the development of modern ballet.
While the name Charmelle has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has persisted as a unique and distinct name, often associated with French culture, charm, and grace.
People
Charmelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charmelle 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
Charmelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charmelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charmelle 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Charmelle a common name?
We classify Charmelle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 101 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charmelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Charmelle was 1980, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charmelle is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charmelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 161 people with the name Charmelle, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,643 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 Charmelle 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 Charmelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charmelle leans strongly female. 154 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Charmelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charmelle is Black at 78.3%. The next largest groups are White (10.6%) and Hispanic (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 Charmelle most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Charmelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.3% (126 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 Charmelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charmelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charmelle 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 Charmelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charmelle 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 Charmelle 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 have the name Charmelle?
Want to know how many people have the name Charmelle? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.