Meaning of the name Charles

Charles originates in Germanic languages and means "free man". It has been one of the most popular masculine given names over centuries, and in different spellings all over the world. Popular with European royalty, the famous bearers include several emperors, kings, dukes and princes, currently the most famous being Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. Recently, the popularity of the name Charles has declined in the United States.

CHAHR-lz

Boy

Germanic

Free man

CHAARLZ

Boy

German

Derived from Karl meaning "free man", it was combined with tne Old English name Ceorl and was adapted by the aristocracy and royal familiy into the name Charles.

/ˈt͡ʃɑɹlz/(English) /ʃaʁl/(French)  

Boy

English, French

French and English form of Carolus, the Latin form of the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a word meaning "man" (Proto-Germanic *karlaz). However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic name element *harjaz meaning "army".The popularity of the name in continental Europe was due to the fame of Charles the Great (742-814), commonly known as Charlemagne, a King of the Franks who came to rule over most of Europe. His grandfather Charles Martel had also been a noted leader of the Franks. It was subsequently the name of several Holy Roman emperors, as well as rulers of France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary (in various spellings). After Charlemagne, his name was adopted as a word meaning "King" in many Eastern European languages, for example Czech král, Hungarian király, Russian король (korol), and Turkish kral.The name did not become common in Britain until the 17th century when it was borne by the Stuart King Charles I. It had been introduced into the Stuart royal family by Mary Queen of Scots, who had been raised in France. Two other kings of the United Kingdom have borne this name, including the current monarch.Other famous bearers include naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) who revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution, novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who wrote such works as Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities, French statesman Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), and American cartoonist Charles Schulz (1922-2000), the creator of the Peanuts comic strip.

Boy

German

Free Man

Boy

German

Man, strong

Boy

Ghana,Old German,Roman

Variant of Karl; brave