The Charles surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 61,211 people carried this name — #548 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,820 people counted. That is up 19% from 51,518 in 2000.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 12,267 people named Charles.
485 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 107 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 1,508 people named Charles live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 590 people named Charles live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
393 people named Charles live in Switzerland.
They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 8 births for the Charles name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In the Nordic population registers
82 people named Charles are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Charles in American newspapers,
1870–1937.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,745,387 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Charles,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Thomas Charles 1755–1814 · cleric -
Hubert Charles 1793–1882 · politician -
Louise-Marie-Julienne Charles-Béchet 1801–1880 · bookseller -
Auguste-Antoine Charles 1814–1870 · banker -
William Charles 1831–1903
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 242 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Charles.
- Chardon 258 · U.S. census
- Charette 4,121 · U.S. census
- Chari 434 · U.S. census
- Charite 165 · U.S. census
- Charle 106 · U.S. census
- Charlemagne 480 · U.S. census
- Charlet 453 · U.S. census
- Charley 4,201 · U.S. census
- Charlier 338 · U.S. census
- Charlo 133 · U.S. census
- Charlot 1,334 · U.S. census
- Charlotin 192 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Charles is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.