Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Charles” come from?

Charles comes from Old French Charles, from Latin Carolus, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ǵerh₂- meaning to grow or increase.

Ancestry of “Charles”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchCharlesCharles
2Old FrenchCharles—
3LatinCarolusCharles
4Middle High GermanKarl—
5Old High Germankarlman
6Proto-Germanickarilazfree man, franklin; little man, young man
7Proto-Germanickaraz—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanǵerh₂-to grow old, to mature

Words derived from “Charles”

  • Charles
  • Carolina
  • Charlie
  • Charlotte
  • Charleston
  • Caroline
  • Carlos
  • Carol
  • Carlo
  • Charlottesville
  • Callie
  • Charlene
  • Chaz
  • Charleroi
  • Charli
  • Kallie
  • Carlism
  • Charlee
  • Charlestonian
  • carolin
  • Chazza
  • CharlieCard
  • Charleigh
  • Carolus
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵerh₂- →