Cherly
A feminine name derived from the French word "cherie" meaning "beloved" or "darling".
Name Census estimates that about 818 living Americans carry the first name Cherly. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cherly today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cherly births was 1966 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cherly. 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
818
~ 1 in 419,015 Americans
Peak year
1966
46 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2010 SSA rank
#17,583
Tracked since 1943
Census
Cherly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,093 people with the first name Cherly, which placed it at #11,649 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
#11,649
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,093 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cherly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cherly is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (28.5%) and Hispanic (13.4%). 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 Cherly 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 Cherly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.7% · 543
- Black or African American28.5% · 312
- Hispanic or Latino13.4% · 147
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 42
- Two or more races2.5% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 22
Popularity
Cherly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cherly from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 347 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cherly 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 Cherly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cherlys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Florida, New York recorded the most babies named Cherly, while North Carolina, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cherly
The name Cherly is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, specifically derived from the word "ceorl," which meant a freeman or a free peasant. This name first emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th centuries.
Cherly is considered a variant spelling of the more common name Cheryl, which is thought to have evolved from the French name Carelle or Carel, itself a diminutive form of the masculine name Charles. The name Charles, in turn, traces its roots back to the German name Karl, meaning "free man" or "manly."
While the name Cherly does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its connection to the name Charles and the concept of freedom and free status in society can be traced back to its Old English origins.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cherly can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the Great Survey of England completed in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. In this historical document, the name is listed as "Cherli," likely referring to a freeman or landowner at the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cherly, although it has been less common than its variant spellings. One example is Cherly Hoskins (born 1947), an American actress known for her roles in films such as "The Cooler" and "The Ringer." Another is Cherly Hines (born 1975), an American singer and songwriter best known for her work in the R&B and neo-soul genres.
In the realm of literature, Cherly Strayed (born 1968) is an American memoirist and novelist, author of the critically acclaimed book "Wild" and the advice column "Dear Sugar." Cherly Tiegs (born 1947) is a former American model and fashion icon, known for her appearances on numerous magazine covers and her successful business ventures.
Additionally, Cherly Sandberg (born 1969) is an American business executive and philanthropist, best known for her role as the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and her work advocating for women's leadership and empowerment.
People
Cherly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cherly 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
Cherly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cherly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 818 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cherly 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 419,015 US residents.
Is Cherly a common name?
We classify Cherly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 989 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cherly most popular?
The single biggest year for Cherly was 1966, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cherly is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cherly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,093 people with the name Cherly, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,649 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 Cherly 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 Cherly?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cherly leans strongly female. 1,081 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 16 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Cherly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cherly is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (28.5%) and Hispanic (13.4%). 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 Cherly most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cherly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (543 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 Cherly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cherly a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cherly 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 Cherly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cherly 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 Cherly 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 Cherly?
Find out how many people have the name Cherly on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.