|
Origin: |
Charlotte is a feminine form of Charles, itself an old French form of the Germanic name Karl. The Latin form Carola (the feminine form of Carolus) developed the diminutive suffix -ot which became Charlotte in French and Carlotta in Italian. Karl itself was a Germanic word meaning "man, husband" which stemmed from the Proto-Germanic *karilaz "little man, young man", a word that can be found in use in many languages throughout Europe. In Old English, for example, ceorl (later a carl or churl) referred to a freeman: a status between a noble and a serf. They held the right to bear arms, attend local courts, and payed dues directly to the king. In Slavic languages, the word came to mean "king" thanks to the Carolingian dynasty (e.g. Polish krol, Lithuanian karalius, Czech and Slovakkrál, Russian король). |
|
Usage: |
Many onomasticians -- including the indomitable Charlotte M. Yonge and Elizabeth G. Withycombe -- track the first Charlotte back to Charlotte of Savoy (1411-1483). She married Louis XI of France, thereby 'introducing' the Italian Carlotta to French court, which was Frenchified as Charlotte. However, a deeper delve shows a more complex picture, and not one that necessarily started with Carlotta and ended with Charlotte. The Duchy of Savoy, where Charlotte was born, ruled territory between France, Switzerland and Italy which made for a language melting pot. Early records in Italian* do call her Carlotta, but, as her family were of French nobility, she may have been called Charlotte also. Her immediate family tree was also littered with other Charlottes, and she certainly wasn't the first. Another Charlotte was her first cousin and later sister-in-law Charlotte of Lusignan (1444– 1487) who was born only three years after Charlotte of Savoy. She was heir to the throne of Cyprus and later reigned as queen in her own right. Charlotte de Bourbon (1449–1478), was another distant member of the de Bourbon line who was born soon after. Both Charlotte of Savoy and Charlotte of Lusignan were, in all likelihood, named after their mutual grandmother Charlotte de Bourbon-La Marche (1388–1422), Queen consort of Cyprus. This Charlotte was born in France in 1388, daughter of John I, Count of La Marche, and is known for bringing about a revival of French culture to the Cyprian court. Though she may have been 'Regina Carlotta' to her people, it is more likely that her French family called her Charlotte. It is possible that she was named in honour of King Charles VI of France, whom her father fought with on campaign in Flanders in 1382. From the 14th century onward, then, Charlotte/Carlotta was well established among French royalty and the houses they married into. It took a little longer to travel to British shores. In 1626, the 7th Earl of Derby married French aristocrat Charlotte de La Trémoille (1599-1664) (yet another branch of the de Bourbon tree). Charlotte is famous for having withstood an eleven-week Parliamentarian siege of Lathom Castle in 1644, with only 300 men. Her bravery was immortalised in romantic novels of the 19th century, including one by Sir Walter Scott. In the aftermath of the Civil War (1642-49), culminating in the beheading of Charles I, royalist families began to increase their honorific use of Charles as a given name, moving it up to the top 15 most popular names in the latter half of the 17th century. Charlotte may also have been used as an honourific royalist name, as Dunkling ranks it #41 for girls in England and Wales in 1700. This made it by no means popular, but it does show it was in regular use by that time. A century later, in 1800, Charlotte had shot up to #10 and was still a respectable #19 by 1850. The most likely influence was thanks to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of George III, who was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1716-1818, and also its use as the name of the heroine in Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) which was a huge international success. Queen Charlotte is remembered for being a passionate supporter of arts and science and for founding many orphanages. She was mother to fifteen children and took an active part in their upbringing, ensuring that her daughters were highly educated. She also founded a maternity hospital, which is now known as Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, one of the oldest of its kind in the world. Charlotte, Princess Royal (1766–1828), her eldest daughter, followed, as did Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (1796–1817) her granddaughter, and the only daughter and heir of George IV. This latter Charlotte was the People's Princess; deemed as a breath of fresh air for the British public, compared to her perfidious father and ailing grandfather (who was widely thought to be insane). When she died, aged only 21, in 1817, the country went into an intense period mourning. Linen-drapers ran out of black cloth and shops, law courts and docks were closed for two weeks. She was certainly the Diana of her day. Her death caused a crisis of succession. King George III's (by then middle-aged) bachelor sons scrabbled to provide the next heir, and, as a result, Princess Charlotte of Clarence was born in March 1819 to William, Duke of Clarence (later William IV). Tragically, she died within hours of her birth, denying the country another ruling Queen Charlotte. Two months later, Princess Alexandrina Victoria was born, the future Queen Victoria. Charlotte was one of the names which she was supposed to be given, but was rejected by the Prince Regent. Perhaps this pettish act is why Victoria did not use the name Charlotte for any of her own children. When her eldest daughter Vicky, used the name for her first born in 1860 (Princess Charlotte of Prussia "Charly"), the queen was vocal in her dislike of the name. Charlotte was not used as a given name by the immediate British royal family until the birth this year of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. The one royal exception is Charlotte the parrot, the beloved pet of George V who he took everywhere with him. This lack of royal namesakes, combined with it eventually being considered a "grandmother" name, saw the name gradually decline in use over the course of the 19th century: #20 in 1860, #25 in 1870, #35 in 1880, #50 in 1890 and #64 in 1900. Charley and Lottie were well established as nicknames, and C.M. Yonge also lists Chatty as a variant. E. G. Withycombe makes the intriguing observation that, although the 17th spelling "Charlet" shows that the name was pronounced the same then as it is today, in the 19th century it occasionally became three syllables: Charlotty. Though they may, in some cases, be transcription errors it is interesting to note that the 1881 census has 47 instances of Charlottee, 35 of Charlottie and 18 of Charlotty.
In 1974, Charlotte was back in the top 100 at #41 and was #22 by 1984. It peaked at #4 in 1994 and remained in the top 10 until 2006. Though the rank has fluctuated, the birth count has been steadily decreasing each year. Time will tell if the recent birth of Princess Charlotte will boost the name up again. In 2013, Charlotte ranked #21 with 2242 births in England and Wales. |
|
Famous Bearers: |
Royalty: * Charlotte de Bourbon-La Marche (1388–1422), Queen consort of Cyprus and titular Queen consort of Armenia and Jerusalem. History: * Charlotte de La Trémoille (1599-1664), Countess of Derby and royalist heroine. Contemporary: * Charlotte Gainsburg (b. 1971), Anglo-French actress and singer. Literature and Other Media: * Charlotte "Lotte", the heroine of Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774). |
|
Variants: |
Charlene, Charlize; Carlotta (Italian), Carlota (Spanish, Portuguese) |
|
Pronunciation: |
SHAR-lət [key] |
| Possible Diminutives: |
Char, Charlie, Charley, Charles, Charla, Chattie, Lotte, Lottie, Lotta, Lola |
|
Sibling Names: |
Amelia Emily Lucy Harriet Eleanor Victoria |
|
Name Lists: |
Gorgeously Georgian British Royalty European Royalty Austen Names Bronte Names Dickensian Names Disney Names Names of Roses |
|
If you like Charlotte you may also like: |
Thanks to Charlotte for requesting this post.
