Given name
Sharlene
“a small, strong woman”
In French use, Sharlene carries the interpretation “a small, strong woman.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In French use, Sharlene carries the interpretation “a small, strong woman.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is French.
How it developed
Sharlene is used as a feminine counterpart of Charles.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1917. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sharlene through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 12,175
- 0 boys · 12,175 girls
- Most popular year
- 1956
- 380 babies
- 2025
- 9
- #10,788 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −53%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 9 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 10,788 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 53.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 380 in 1956. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 10,243 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sharlene’s family of names
Sharlene is a feminine form of Charles. In Cebuano usage, Sharlene has a related form in Charlene. Sharlene has a related form in Sharla.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Charlenevariant · ceb, English
- Sharlavariant
- Sharleanvariant
- Sharlynvariant
- Sharlinevariant
- Sharlynevariant
- Sharleenvariant
- Sharleenevariant
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Sharlene
- Sharlene TauléDominican singer, actress, musician and songwriterborn 1989
- Sharlene MawdsleyIrish sprinterborn 1998
- Sharlene San PedroFilipino actress and vlogger (born 1999)born 1998
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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