Charles isn’t currently in the top 10 of most popular baby names, but that will change in the coming years. If television is a trend-setter, then Charles, Chuck, Charlie and Charlotte are about to experience a comeback.
For some utterly bizarre reason, just about every TV show has a major Chuck or Charlie, so although Charlie ranked 86th among baby boy names in 2008, it’ll climb the charts. Same with Charlotte, which came in at No. 68 among girls.
“Lost” might’ve had something to do with this. British musician Charlie was among the most well-liked castaways when the show premiered in 2004. “Lost” is obsessed with this name: It later introduced bad guy Charles Widmore and Daniel’s girlfriend, Charlotte.
It’s been said that imitation is the sincerest form of TV, and this whole Charles thing is a case in point. Other shows, perhaps subconsciously seeking a character people would come back to, started naming their characters one of the Charles variations.
The fall of 2007 — following the summer movie “Good Luck Chuck” — was a particularly big year for the name. Charlie Crews was the lead cop on “Life,” Chuck Bass was the suave villain on “Gossip Girl” and Charlotte “Chuck” Charles was the girl who came back to life on “Pushing Daisies.” And, of course, there was “Chuck,” about an unwitting government agent by that name.
In the spring of 2008, we met Charlie, John’s stepfather on “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” The fall of 2008 followed suit with Charlie, the best friend on “Privileged.” Also, the FBI agent who is often paired with Olivia on “Fringe” is Charlie Francis, the boss who briefly took over for Michael on “The Office” was Charles Minor, and Naomi’s dad on “90210” is Charles Clark.
My favorite movie of 2008 was “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” whose title characters are named after Nick and Nora Charles from the “Thin Man” movies. (OK, I admit that one is a stretch.)
If you think your favorite show doesn’t have a Charles, you might want to look closer. We all know that “Monk’s” longtime psychiatrist was Dr. Kroger. His first name? Charles, of course.
In contrast to Dane Cook’s ladies man in “Good Luck Chuck,” TV’s Chucks tend to have bad luck in the relationship department. These Charleses are not exactly in charge (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
“Lost’s” Charlie fell for the distant Claire, “Life’s” Charlie saw his wife marry another man when he was wrongly imprisoned, “Gossip Girl’s” Chuck could never find the right words for Blair, “Pushing Daisies'” Chuck pined after the Pie Man, “Chuck’s” Chuck had a thing for his hot spy partner, “Terminator’s” Charlie got kicked to the curb when Sarah went on the run, and “Privileged’s” Charlie couldn’t get the time of day from Megan.
Beware if a character prefers to go by the formal “Charles” — “Lost’s” string-pulling Charles Widmore, “24’s” evil President Charles Logan, “The Office’s” scary boss Charles Minor and “90210’s” cheatin’ Charles Clark are nasty fellows.
But Charlies and Chucks tend to be decent, loyal guys (or gals, in a couple cases), and I think that’s why the popularity of the name is exploding.
No other TV name comes close to being this ubiquitous. Consider that the top girl baby name is Emma and the top boy baby name is Aiden. There’s an Emma on “Glee” and “Degrassi” and there was an Aiden on “South of Nowhere,” but I can’t think of any others off the top of my head.
Any theories on why this Charles phenomenon came about? Did I forget any TV Chucks? And who is your favorite?