Meaning
The meaning of Charity
Charity comes through Old French charite from Latin caritas. The Latin word names dearness, esteem, and the highest kind of selfless love. Early Christian Latin translators used caritas to render the Greek agape, the New Testament word for the self-giving love that distinguishes Christian ethics from Greek philosophical eros. The KJV of 1611 keeps charity throughout 1 Corinthians 13, the New Testament passage that names it as the greatest of the three theological virtues.
Virtue name
Why Charity became a Christian name
Charity names the Greek agape, the self-giving love that early Christian writers distinguished from the Greek eros and philia. Augustine's De doctrina Christiana places caritas at the centre of Christian ethics: rightly ordered love of God and neighbour.
The KJV of 1611 keeps charity throughout 1 Corinthians 13, where modern translations more often use love. The continued use of the older word in liturgical and devotional contexts has kept the name available as a Christian register, even as everyday usage has shifted.
Sound
How to pronounce Charity
- Phonetic
- CHAIR-ih-tee
- IPA
- /ˈtʃærɪti/
3 syllables · stress: CHAIR-ih-tee · ends in a vowel
Forms
Variants and nicknames
Short forms and nicknames
- Char
- Cherry
Languages
Charity in other languages
- Latin
- CaritasCaritas is the Latin source and remains the title of major Catholic relief organisations including Caritas Internationalis.
- Spanish
- Caridad
- Italian
- Carità
Christian background
Christian and biblical background
Charity has been used as an English Christian name since the seventeenth-century Puritan tradition. The classical Christian theology of the three theological virtues (Faith, Hope, Charity) gave the name its enduring weight: among the three, charity is named the greatest. The Eastern Orthodox tradition preserves Saint Charity (Latin: Caritas) alongside her sisters Faith (Pistis) and Hope (Elpis) and their mother Sophia, all second-century Roman martyrs.
Bearers
Notable people named Charity
historical
Saint Charity of RomeSecond-century Roman martyr venerated in Eastern Christian tradition together with her sisters Faith and Hope and their mother Sophiahistorical
Charity BryantAmerican writer and craftswoman whose decades-long partnership with Sylvia Drake in early-nineteenth-century Vermont is documented in their letters and diaries, 1777 to 1851
Naming history
Naming tradition and history
Charity entered English naming through the Puritan period alongside Faith, Hope, Mercy, and Grace, traveling to Colonial America with the same tradition. The name rose into the US Top 200 during the 1970s, peaking at #183 in 1975, then declined steadily through the 1980s and 1990s. Charity currently sits at #1981 in the 2025 SSA data, well below its mid-century peak but still in recognizable use across the same Puritan-tradition virtue-name cluster that gave American naming Faith, Hope, Mercy, and Grace.
Recent US use
Charity in recent US use
- Rank in 2025
- #1981
- Peak rank
- #183 in 1975
- Recent trend
- declining over the last 5 years
- Years in the SSA records
- 146 (since 1880)
Source: US Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880-2025.
Sibling fit
Sibling name suggestions
Phonetic neighbours
Names that sound similar to Charity
- Grace · Same virtue-name register and the same Puritan-tradition cluster, despite the different Latin roots and stress patterns.
For families
For families looking at Charity
For a Christian family, Charity names the highest of the three theological virtues. The name is rare in modern American use (outside the SSA Top 1000 in 2025) but recognizable from 1 Corinthians 13 across the English-speaking Christian world.
Common questions
What does Charity mean?
Charity means selfless love or esteem. The English word comes from Latin caritas through Old French charite.
Is Charity a biblical name?
Charity is not the name of a biblical person, but charity is the KJV word for the Greek agape, the highest of the three theological virtues in 1 Corinthians 13.
Is Charity a Christian name?
Yes. Charity is a classic English Christian virtue name from the seventeenth-century Puritan tradition.
How popular is the name Charity?
Charity ranked #1981 in US baby names in 2025, outside the SSA Top 1000 and on a slow declining trend through the 2010s.
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