Fun Facts About the Name Charm
- More than 1 thousand babies named Charm: U.S. records list 1,284 babies given the name Charm from 1880 through 2025. Even 69 boys received the name Charm - about 1 boy for every 18 girls.
What Does the Name Charm Mean?
Charm is an English word-name taken from the noun charm, which means "a magic spell or incantation" and, by extension, "a pleasing, attractive quality." The English word comes from Old French charme, which descends from Latin carmen, meaning "song, verse, poem, or ritual formula." Latin carmen is built on a root related to canere, "to sing."
The literal sense behind the name is therefore "something sung" - a recited formula - which in Latin and then in French narrowed toward a spoken spell or enchantment. The later idea of charm as personal attractiveness is an extension of that same word, not a separate etymology.
Charm Name History & Origins
The word behind the name is old. Latin carmen covered both a song or poem - the Roman poet Horace called his odes Carmina - and a solemn or magical formula. Old French took the word up as charme, and Middle English borrowed it as charme, keeping the senses of both "spell" and "song." English also formed the verb to charm, "to enchant or delight," which fed the modern meaning of charm as a pleasing quality.
As a given name, Charm belongs to the English habit of using ordinary words as personal names, in the company of names such as Grace, Hope, and Joy. It is used chiefly in English and is much rarer than the longer female names Charmian and Charmaine, which are sometimes assumed to be its sources. Charmian derives from Greek charma, "joy, delight," a different root, and appears as the attendant of Cleopatra in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra - a well-known literary use rather than evidence about Charm itself. The resemblance among these names does not establish a shared origin, and Charm is best explained as the English noun used directly as a name.
How Popular is the Name Charm?
Charm has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,415 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,415 | 154 | 0.0096% |
| 2024 | #1,704 | 119 | 0.0074% |
| 2023 | #2,158 | 88 | 0.0055% |
| 2022 | #1,920 | 104 | 0.0063% |
| 2021 | #1,780 | 114 | 0.0070% |
| 2020 | #1,912 | 100 | 0.0062% |
| 2019 | #2,404 | 74 | 0.0044% |
| 2018 | #2,690 | 64 | 0.0038% |
| 2017 | #3,204 | 50 | 0.0029% |
| 2016 | #5,027 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2015 | #5,158 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2014 | #4,797 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 2013 | #5,043 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2012 | #5,941 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2011 | #7,184 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2010 | #6,434 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2009 | #7,756 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2008 | #10,967 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #10,277 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #9,417 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #12,056 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #10,868 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2003 | #12,675 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #9,518 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #12,046 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1999 | #8,918 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1991 | #13,523 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #8,177 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #9,863 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #9,522 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #9,295 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #5,888 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #6,709 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #5,798 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #5,107 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #6,205 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1955 | #5,953 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1952 | #4,183 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1950 | #5,414 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1937 | #3,872 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6,878 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2024 | #7,838 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #6,968 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #9,137 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #8,296 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #10,842 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #11,021 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2018 | #11,018 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Charm Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Charm's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Charm's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.