Feminine form of Charles, from Germanic 'karl' meaning free man.
Charlene is a feminine form of Charles, and through Charles it ultimately derives from the old Germanic word karl, meaning "free man" or, more broadly, "man" in the sense of an independent person. The great prestige of Charlemagne and other royal Charleses spread the name family widely across Europe, and feminine elaborations eventually followed: Charlotte, Carla, Caroline, and later Charlene. Charlene is a relatively modern member of that lineage, more twentieth century than medieval.
Its rise belongs especially to the English-speaking world, where elaborated feminine forms flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Charlene reached a broad public in the United States during the mid-century, when it fit the taste for names that sounded graceful, polished, and unmistakably feminine. The name has appeared in film, music, and popular culture often enough to feel familiar, but it has never become so overused that it lost its poise.
One hears in it both the authority of Charles and the softer cadence of names ending in -lene. Perception has changed with time. Charlene once suggested mid-century glamour, pageants, and radio-era elegance; later it could read as vintage Americana.
Today it feels ready for rediscovery, partly because it sits between categories: formal but not stiff, familiar but not common. It also carries echoes of other classics such as Charlotte and Caroline while remaining distinct from them. Charlene is a good example of how names evolve by family resemblance. It inherits royal and historical depth from Charles, but its own personality is gentler, warmer, and more socially modern.