What to Expect When Your Name is Charlotte

4 minute read

Dear Baby Princess Charlotte,

Congratulations, you’re the most powerful infant in the world! Even better news: the second most powerful baby in the world, the newest member of the Clinton family, is also named Charlotte. (Your brother is a toddler, he doesn’t count.)

On behalf of the small but growing cohort of non-royal Charlottes, thank you for teaching the world how to spell our name. We may soon be free of the scourge of “good guesses” like Charlot, Sharlet, and Sherlit. It’s one small step for a baby, one giant leap for Charlotte-kind, and one big lesson for Starbucks baristas.

But that’s why ‘Charlotte’ is a special name; it’s simultaneously famous and rare. Until the birth of your slightly older future BFF Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, there were relatively few examples of notable Charlottes. But the few were mighty. Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre, a book you will love in high school. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a famous American feminist and sociologist who wrote the short story The Yellow Wallpaper, which will make you question your own sanity. Charlotte Hawkins-Brown was an educator and activist who started a school for black students in the South. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was married to King George III, who was King of England during the American Revolution. That’s something for you and American Charlotte to hash out later.

In fiction, the name has fared slightly better. The best Charlotte is definitely the spider in Charlotte’s Web, a book that is undoubtedly being shipped to your parents at this very instant, from all different parts of the globe. Because of this Charlotte, you may not have the aversion to spiders so common in other little girls. In darker fiction, Charlotte is the love interest in Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther, and Lolita’s mother in Nabokov’s Lolita, which your parents will explain to you later. The most popular Charlotte in recent memory is probably Kristin Davis’s character from Sex and the City, which might have contributed to the resurgence of the name’s popularity.

And yet, there has never been a definitive Charlotte, a woman so important to cultural history that her identity is forever imprinted on the name. There has been a definitive Eleanor (Roosevelt), Nancy (Drew), Marilyn (Monroe) and Victoria (the queen.) But the spot for the definitive Charlotte is up for grabs. All I ask is that you do the name justice.

Until the last few years, Charlotte has not been a hot choice for baby girl names, never having the wildfire spread of Jennifer or Emily. In 2000, Charlotte was the 289th most popular baby name in the US, but in 2013, it was #11. Back in my day, you could not find tiny motorcycle license plates with “Charlotte” on them. Not even in Times Square.

Because of its relative rareness, many Charlottes are not accustomed to sharing their name. Unlike Emilys and Emmas, Sarahs and Sofias, most Charlottes have not yet come to the point where they need to call themselves by their full name or last initial in order to distinguish themselves from their classmates. But as a growing cohort of now-baby Charlottes prepare themselves for kindergarten, that time is coming to a close. As a result, Charlottes may soon be grasping for nicknames, and they may find slim pickings.

Unlike Elizabeth, Margaret and Alexandra, the nicknames for Charlotte are few and peculiar. Charlotte is long on the page but short on the tongue, which gives the impression that the name should be shortened. Charlie, Lotte, and Lottie are nice options, but they don’t suit everyone. Your name will inevitably be shortened to Char, which evokes images of fish entrees or blackened meat. Ultimately, I cannot guide you here. Each Charlotte must find her own path.

A final word of advice, young Charlotte: the best true rhymes for Charlotte are ‘scarlet’ and ‘harlot.’ With that in mind, try to avoid games or songs where a rhyme must be found for your name. You’ll thank me later.

Love,

Charlotte

Oh Baby: 121 Years Of Infant Royals On Camera

This was the last time a Queen met her greatgrandchild. In 1894, Queen Victoria holds the newly christened Prince Edward, later Edward VIII.
This was the last time a Queen met her greatgrandchild. In 1894, Queen Victoria holds the newly christened Prince Edward, later Edward VIII.Popperfoto/Getty Images
This tot, pictured in 1896, didn't expect to be king but when his elder brother Edward VIII abdicated, George VI took over.
This tot, pictured in 1896, didn't expect to be king but when his elder brother Edward VIII abdicated, George VI took over. Popperfoto/Getty Images
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, born to the Scottish aristocracy in 1900, would become royal through marriage to the future George VI. Their eldest daughter is the current Queen.
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, born to the Scottish aristocracy in 1900, would become royal through marriage to the future George VI. Their eldest daughter is the current Queen. Popperfoto/Getty Images
In 1926, as a tiny baby, Princess Elizabeth already displays the solemn face that she has deployed so often in her public duties since becoming Queen.
In 1926, as a tiny baby, Princess Elizabeth already displays the solemn face that she has deployed so often in her public duties since becoming Queen.Bob Thomas–Popperfoto/Getty Images
The naughty sister: the baby Princess Margaret, flanked by Princess Elizabeth and their mother, led a colorful life. Prevented from marrying her first love, a divorced commoner, she later married, and divorced, fashionable photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones.
The naughty sister: the baby Princess Margaret, flanked by Princess Elizabeth and their mother, led a colorful life. Prevented from marrying her first love, a divorced commoner, she later married, and divorced, fashionable photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. Popperfoto/Getty Images
Before Princes Charles was born in 1948, his grandfather King George VI did away with a long-held custom that demanded the Home Secretary be present at royal births. Here Charles is pictured with his mother, at that stage still Princess Elizabeth.
Before Princes Charles was born in 1948, his grandfather King George VI did away with a long-held custom that demanded the Home Secretary be present at royal births. Here Charles is pictured with his mother, at that stage still Princess Elizabeth. AP
Princess Anne, second child of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, pictured at her 1950 christening, must have been born with horse sense. She won a gold and two silver medals at European equestrian competitions and rode for the U.K. in the 1976 Olympics.
Princess Anne, second child of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, pictured at her 1950 christening, must have been born with horse sense. She won a gold and two silver medals at European equestrian competitions and rode for the U.K. in the 1976 Olympics.Fox Photos/Getty Images
She already had an heir. Here's Queen Elizabeth with the spare: a chubby, 6-month-old Prince Andrew, in the grounds of Balmoral Castle, Scotland in 1960.
She already had an heir. Here's Queen Elizabeth with the spare: a chubby, 6-month-old Prince Andrew, in the grounds of Balmoral Castle, Scotland in 1960.AP
This 1964 snap of Prince Edward in his cot, with brother Andrew and his mother, the Queen, already suggests an interest in what's going on behind the camera. He went on to found a TV production company in 1993.
This 1964 snap of Prince Edward in his cot, with brother Andrew and his mother, the Queen, already suggests an interest in what's going on behind the camera. He went on to found a TV production company in 1993.AP
The Queen admires her first grandchild, Peter Phillips, at Balmoral Castle in November 1977. Peter's mother, Princess Anne, declined royal titles for both of her children.
The Queen admires her first grandchild, Peter Phillips, at Balmoral Castle in November 1977. Peter's mother, Princess Anne, declined royal titles for both of her children.Anwar Hussein
Zara Tindall, née Phillips has become a top flight equestrian, like mom Princess Anne. Pictured here in 1981, mother and daughter were much photographed at the 2012 Olympics when Anne presented Zara with a silver medal.
Zara Tindall, née Phillips has become a top flight equestrian, like mom Princess Anne. Pictured here in 1981, mother and daughter were much photographed at the 2012 Olympics when Anne presented Zara with a silver medal.Lichfield–Getty Images
"And one day you will marry a beautiful Princess called Kate." Prince William looks to the future, in 1983.
"And one day you will marry a beautiful Princess called Kate." Prince William looks to the future, in 1983.Tim Graham–Getty Images
Prince Harry, aged 9 months, watches a military parade with his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and brother William, in 1985.
Prince Harry, aged 9 months, watches a military parade with his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and brother William, in 1985. Roy Letkey–Reuters
The spitting image of her dad Prince Andrew, but for the red hair inherited from mother Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Beatrice looks pensive at her 1988 christening.
The spitting image of her dad Prince Andrew, but for the red hair inherited from mother Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Beatrice looks pensive at her 1988 christening.Tim Graham–Getty Images
Another addition to the house of York: Princess Eugenie, with her mother Sarah, at her christening in 1990.
Another addition to the house of York: Princess Eugenie, with her mother Sarah, at her christening in 1990. Bill Allen–AP
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, with their newborn baby boy, Prince George of Cambridge, Tilly the retriever, left, a Middleton family pet and Lupo, the couple's cocker spaniel, right, at the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, in early August, 2013.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, with their newborn baby boy, Prince George of Cambridge, Tilly the retriever, left, a Middleton family pet and Lupo, the couple's cocker spaniel, right, at the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, in early August, 2013. Michael Middleton–AFP/Getty Images
Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, Britain, mid-May 2015.
Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, Britain, mid-May 2015. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge

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Write to Charlotte Alter at charlotte.alter@time.com