The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Charlotte!

Comments and insights on the name Charlotte: | Edit

In addition to being a family name for us, we picked Charlotte because it was feminine but still strong. It is still relatively uncommon despite being a beautiful name.

According to the baby name book "Cool Names" by Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz, the name Charlotte is 'cool', while the name Chiara is 'cooler', and the name Charlene is 'uncool'.

Personal experiences with the name Charlotte: | Edit

Hi..my name is Charlotte; I'm 52 years old. In all honesty? Growing up..I hated my name. It was long; computer readouts always chopped it at "Charlot". It was hard to spell; hard to remember. I got called Sherrie; Sharon; Charlene; Charla..most everything but Charlotte. My nickname was "Charshie"..which caught on because my little sister couldn't say--Charlotte. And..the only other "Charlotte" I knew was a little old lady across the way who always wore red ankle socks with short pants and chain smoked. Kids read comic books back then--one of the most popular was this big fat blonde girl--Lottie. I fought my weight when I was younger; you can guess how that went.

After decades of grappling with my name..a while back..it just kind of grew on me. Somewhere in there it went from--snide comments ("why didn't your mom just name you something easy?") to--sophisticated. Its a strong name--I'm a strong person..and I'm proud of that. I hear comments now like..elegant; Victorian; feminine--but strong..and beautiful. Its not a wimpy name--ask anyone whose had to carry it around for a lifetime. I love my name but..I had to grow into it.

We named our daughter Charlotte Mary because we wanted a timeless name as well as one not-so-common and not often associated with nicknames. We wanted something that sounded classy, southern, strong and yet feminine... Charlotte fit all of these things perfectly! Our little red headed blue eyed 2 year old is extremely smart, funny, kind, feminine, independent and strong!!! We paired her name with Mary to honor the Virgin mother, which doubled perfectly as a Southern sounding name! I had loved that name since I was a child, as Charlotte's web was one of my all time favorite books. Also, Charlotte Bronte is one of my favorite writers. Admittedly so, I also got a kick out of the more "old fashioned" morals of "Charlotte" on the hit show "Sex and the City".

I named my daughter Charlotte Annabelle, and we call her Charlie for short. We always get comments on her name about how pretty it is and uncommon without being "out there." We, so far, have not met any other Charlottes or Charlies.

I think Charlotte is becoming more common. In the last year I have met 2 babies named Charlotte, I think its going to be a bit hit especially since old names are hot right now.

When I named my daughter Isabel in 1998, I worried that Isabel would be too popular -- turned out that of the five baby girls born to our Lamaze class, three were named Charlotte. That said, I don't run into a lot of Charlottes at school ten years later. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Or subliminal messages from our Lamaze instructor?

We considered Charlotte for a girl as a way to honor Pope John Paul II. His Polish name was Karol, which is Charles in English. Hence Charlotte. (We opted to name our daughter after my grandmother instead, but I still love this name.)

We named our daughter Charlotte (born June, 2008), but we call her "Lottie". We get such warm and excited responses when we tell people her name and nickname. Charlotte is a beautiful name, but "Lottie" is so cute and sweet, and that's exactly how our little baby is!

My name is Charlotte, and I never really liked my name. It is pretty uncommon, and I never liked that growing up. It also is not pronounced like it is spelled- people often spell it "Sharlet" or "Charlit". It is a very feminine name, but also weak. I wouldn't recommend it, unless you call her by a nickname.

I'm 19 years old, and my name is Charlotte. I think it's a beautiful, classy, smart name. I get lots of compliments on it. I used to hate it when I was little, but now I'm SO glad that my name isn't Brittany or Ashley or Emily. My nickname is just Char, which is alright but gets pronounced "CH ar" instead of the appropriate "SH ar". I think if you're going to name your daughter Charlotte, you should call her Charlie or Lottie. Those are way cuter. My middle name is Ann--a simple name, but it works well.

I'm 18, and my name is Charlotte... I like the heritage of my name I guess but I always disliked how common it was there were 5 of us in my maths class... It's a weak sounding name though admittably very feminine, and delicate... It often gets mispronounced or spelt which I find incredibly annoying considering it's so common... I often get called CHARlut, SHALLot, when it should be pronounced Sharlet, which then leads to misspellings... It's a nice name but it doesn't suit me at all... I'm a tomboy, and delicate, weak and ladylike perhaps isn't the right angle for my name... On the upside it's easy to shorten and my friends call me Charley (which also somehow gets mispronounced as Sharley grrr)...

Nicknames for Charlotte: | Edit

Lottie,
Lotte,
Lotta,
Tottie,
Charlie/Charley,
Char,
Charl/Sharl
Chaz,
Charsy,
Arly,
Carly,
Charo,
Cha-cha,
Lola,
Lollie,
Carrie,
Cara,
Harlo,
Arlo,
Harlot,
Harlotte

Meanings and history of the name Charlotte: | Edit

Hi..my name is Charlotte; I'm 52 years old. In all honesty? Growing up..I hated my name. It was long; computer readouts always chopped it at "Charlot". It was hard to spell; hard to remember. I got called Sherrie; Sharon; Charlene; Charla..most everything but Charlotte. My nickname was "Charshie"..which caught on because my little sister couldn't say--Charlotte. And..the only other "Charlotte" I knew was a little old lady across the way who always wore red ankle socks with short pants and chain smoked. Kids read comic books back then--one of the most popular was this big fat blonde girl--Lottie. I fought my weight when I was younger; you can guess how that went.

After decades of grappling with my name..a while back..it just kind of grew on me. Somewhere in there it went from--snide comments ("why didn't your mom just name you something easy?") to--sophisticated. Its a strong name--I'm a strong person..and I'm proud of that. I hear comments now like..elegant; Victorian; feminine--but strong..and beautiful. Its not a wimpy name--ask anyone whose had to carry it around for a lifetime. I love my name but..I had to grow into it.

Famous real-life people named Charlotte: | Edit

Charlotte Bronte, English novelist ("Jane Eyre," "Villette")
Charlotte Rampling, actress of a rather daunting beauty and sexiness
Charlotte Church, English singer
Charlotte Corday, French revolutionary
Charlotte Rae, American actress ("The Facts of Life")
Charlotte Caffey, American guitarist and songwriter, best known as guitarist for The Go-Gos.
Charlotte Cecilia Leitch, American golfer
Charlotte Mew, English poet

Charlotte in song, story & screen: | Edit

"Charlotte's Web," by E. B. White
"Charlotte Sometimes," a song by The Cure
"Charlotte Sometimes," a novel by Penelope Farmer
Charlotte York, a character in the TV series "Sex and the City"
Good Charlotte (rock band)
"I Am Charlotte Simmons," Tom Wolfe novel
"Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte," film and song
"The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle," by Avi (Young Adult Literature)
Charlotte Johanssen, character in The Baby-Sitters Club books
Charlotte Lucas, character in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"
Charlotte Palmer, character in Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility"
Countess Charlotte Malcolm, the jealous wife of a philandering husband in Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music"
Dr. Charlotte King a character in Private Practise
Charlotte Beverwil, a character in the "Poseur" series by Rachel Maude
Charlotte La Bouff (called "Lottie"), a character in Disney's "The Princess and the Frog"