Charity is an English feminine given name derived from the English word ''

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

''. It was used by the

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

as a virtue name. An earlier form of the name, Caritas, was an early Christian name in use by Romans. Charity is also the usual English form of the name of Saint Charity, an early Christian child martyr, who was tortured to death with her sisters Faith and Hope. She is known as Agape in

Biblical Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

and as Caritas in

Church Latin Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Catho ...

and her name is translated differently in other languages. Faith, Hope and Charity, the three theological virtues, are names traditionally given to triplet girls, just as Faith and Hope remain common names for

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

girls. One example were the American triplets Faith, Hope and Charity Cardwell, who were born in 1899 in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and were recognized in 1994 by the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the world's longest lived triplets. Charity has never been as popular a name in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

or Hope. It ranked in the top 500 names for American girls between 1880 and 1898 and in the top 1,000 between 1880 and 1927, when it disappeared from the top 1,000 names until it reemerged among the top 1,000 names in 1968 at No. 968. It was most popular between 1973 and 1986, when it ranked among the top 300 names in the United States. It has since declined in popularity and was ranked at No. 852 in 2011. This is a list of people and characters named Charity:

People

* Charity Anderson (born 2000), American dancer * Charity Adule (born 1993), Nigerian footballer * Charity Angya, Nigerian vice chancellor *

Charity Bick Charity Anne Bick (19 December 1924 – 22 April 2002) was a British civilian dispatch rider during the Second World War, and the youngest ever recipient of the George Medal, the United Kingdom's second-highest award for civilian bravery. She l ...

(1926–2002), English civilian dispatch rider during the Second World War and youngest ever recipient of the George Medal *

Charity Brown Charity Brown (born Phyllis Boltz in Kitchener, Ontario) is a Canadian film actress, singer, and voice artist for television animation shorts. She is one of Eastwood Collegiate Institute's notable alumni. Biography Charity Brown began singing wit ...

(born 1951), Canadian film actress and singer * Charity Bryant (1777-1851), American writer * Charity Kathambi Chepkwony, Kenyan politician *

Charity Clark Charity Rae Clark (born July 15, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as Vermont Attorney General since January 2023. Early life and career Charity Rae Clark was born in Sprin ...

, American politician *

Charity Wright Cook Charity Wright Cook (1745 - 1822) was an American Quaker minister. Cook was born in Prince George's County, Maryland but moved with her family to the area of Cane Creek, North Carolina at the age of three; they moved again, probably in 1760, to ...

(1745-1822), American Quaker minister *

Charity Daw Charity Daw is a Cuban-American Singer and Songwriter based in Los Angeles, CA. She has written RIAA certified songs for Disney's chart-topping Descendants Franchise that includes a No. 1 on Billboard 200, as well as Dove Cameron, Jordin Sparks ...

, American singer-songwriter *

Charity Elliott Charity Dawn Elliott (née Shira; born November 11, 1969) is an American basketball coach currently serving as the head women's basketball coach at Point Loma Nazarene University. She was the women's basketball team head coach at Loyola Marymount ...

(born 1969), American basketball team coach *

Charity Adams Earley Charity Adams Earley (5 December 1918 – 13 January 2002) was an American United States Army officer. She was the first African-American woman to be an officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later WACS) and was the commanding officer of t ...

(1918-2002), African-American officer *

Charity Gaye Finnestad Charity Gaye Finnestad (born June 30, 1973) is an American author known for the blog she kept from April 2007 to April 2008, which documented her adventures living and dating in Hollywood, called ''Hollywood in Heels''. The blog was subsequently t ...

(born 1973), American author *

Charity Lamb Charity Lamb (c.1818 – 1879) was an American murderer who was the first woman convicted of murder in Oregon Territory. She had traveled west from North Carolina via the Oregon Trail, before settling near Oregon City, Oregon, Oregon City with he ...

(1818-1879), American murderer *

Charity Mucucuti Charity Mucucuti (born 9 November 1983) is a Zimbabwean women's basketball and rugby union player from Goromonzi, Zimbabwe. she has played for both the Zimbabwe women's national basketball team and the Zimbabwe women's national rugby union team. ...

(born 1983), Zimbabwean rugby union player *

Charity Basaza Mulenga Charity Basaza Mulenga is a Ugandan electrical engineer and Academic administration, academic administrator. She was the founding vice chancellor (2011 to 2016) of St. Augustine International University (SAIU), a private institution of higher edu ...

(born 1979), Ugandan electrical engineer *

Charity Nebbe Charity Nebbe (born January 10, 1975) is the host of Iowa Public Radio's weekday show, ''Talk of Iowa'' and of Iowa Public Television's show ''Iowa Ingredient''. Career A native of Iowa, she grew up near Cedar Falls, Iowa, Cedar Falls, and atte ...

(born 1975), American host *

Charity Ngilu Charity Kaluki Ngilu (born 28 January 1952) is a Kenyan politician and the second governor elected for Kitui County. She unsuccessfully vied to be President of the Republic of Kenya in 1997. She served as Minister for Health from 2003 until 200 ...

(born 1952), Kenyan politician, Minister of Health from 2003 until 2007 and Minister of Water and Irrigation from 2008 to 2013 *

Charity Opara Charity Opara-Asonze (born 20 May 1972 in Owerri, Imo State) is a former Nigerian track and field athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. She was in particular a successful relay runner, winning the silver medal at the 1996 Olympics. ...

(born 1972), Nigerian former sprinter * Charity Reuben (born 2000), Nigerian footballer * Charity Scott (born 1951), American professor *

Charity Shea Charity Shea real name Charity Guthrie (born December 4, 1978) is an American former actress. She is best known for her role as troubled teenager Samantha Best in ''The Best Years (TV series), The Best Years''. She has starred in films including ...

(born 1983), American actress *

Charity Still Charity Still (c. 1775 – 1857) was a matriarch of the American abolition movement and witness to the development of the Underground Railroad. Early life Sidney (later renamed Charity) was born in slavery in the eighteenth century, on a plantat ...

(c. 1775-1857), American matriarch * Charity Taylor (1914-1998), English medical doctor * Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick (1983-2019), American soprano and presenter *

Charity Waciuma Charity Waciuma (born 1936) is a Kenyan writer, who wrote several novels for adolescents and an autobiographical novel, ''Daughter of Mumbi'' (1969). Her work draws on Kikuyu legends and storytelling traditions. In the 1960s Waciuma and Grace Ogot ...

(born 1936), Nigerian novelist * Charity Wakefield (born 1980), English actress * Charity Wayua (born 1985), Kenyan chemist * Charity Williams (born 1996), Canadian Olympic athlete * Charity Zisengwe (born 1997), Zimbabwean inspirational speaker * Charity Zormelo (1904-1945), Ghanaian first woman graduate from the Gold Coast and first woman from English-speaking West Africa to earn a B.S. degree

Fictional characters

* Charity Bazaar, from the cartoon ''

Histeria! ''Histeria!'' is an American animated series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Unlike other animated series produced by Warner Bros. in the 1990s, ''Histeria!'' was an explicitly educational program created to ...

'' * Charity Bleak, from Grant Morrison's comics ''Seven Soldiers: Klarion the Witch-boy'' * Charity Burbage, from J.K. Rowling's ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' series * Charity More, in Claudia Gray's novel ''Stargazer'' *

Charity Standish Charity Standish is a fictional character on NBC/DirecTV soap opera ''Passions''. She was portrayed by Molly Stanton from July 14, 1999, to July 22, 2004, on contract and then by Kristina Sisco from November 15, 2006, to February 8, 2007, on rec ...

, in the soap opera ''Passions'' * Charity Tate, from the British soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' * Charity Hope Valentine, in the musical comedy '' Sweet Charity'' and the film adaptation * Charity Barnum, in the 2017 American musical film ''

The Greatest Showman ''The Greatest Showman'' is a 2017 American biographical musical drama film directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, ...

'' * Akura Charity, from Will Wight's ''Cradle'' novel series *Charity Kirshenbaum, from

Two and a Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, t ...

References

{{given name English feminine given names Virtue names