US Popularity Rank: 6

Origin: French

Meaning: free man

Charlotte is a feminine variation of the French masculine name Charles. Popular amongst nobility and royalty, Charles means "free man" in honor of its roots in the Germanic Karl. Since the reign of the famed Charles the Great—who founded the Holy Roman Empire and fostered the first Medieval Renaissance—Charlotte has held great influence amongst those of higher tastes. Of course, one of its most prominent bearers is Queen Charlotte of England, wife of King George III, and renowned as a patron of the arts, a music connoisseur, and a novice botanist. Those with a love of literature will perhaps most align this elevated name with novelist Charlotte Brontë whose beloved Jane Eyre continues to enthrall. Much more than a person free from restraints, Charlotte embraces freedom of artistic expression, making it a wonderful choice for a creative family.