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in the US there used to be a TV show in the 60s called The Andy Griffith Show and there was a secondary character that made occasional appearances named Charlene. This was my first introduction to the name as my mom liked to watch reruns of the show and I have yet to know more than a small handful IRL since then. The character was a young, blonde girl in her late teens/early 20s that had a huge crush on the main character (in his early 40s) and persueded him to the point of harassment even though he repeatedly told her he was too old for her. I hear the name CHarlene I imagine a doe-eyed obsessive fan girl. The character did calm down as the series progressed and she ended up marrying someone her own age and that improved my impression of the name in turn as I watched the series with my mom. She ended up being a character that was happy and lively but also grounded so that became my image of the name Charlene. To me a charlene would be a free spirit that went to the beat of her own drum. It is a "happy name" in my mind. A little dated but more appealing in comparision to say Arlene or Marlene, the Char- sound softens it more. I actually like it in comparion to Charlotte about the same though Charlotte is definetly the more universal one of the two.

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What is your opinion of the similar Charlize? I like the sound but think the spelling is kind of harsh so I prefer lesser used spellings like Charleese or Charlise (Charlice makes me think of lice)