From French 'chérie' meaning dear, beloved, or darling.
Cherie comes directly from the French chérie, the feminine past participle of chérir — "to cherish" — making it one of the most literal terms of endearment ever adopted as a given name. In everyday French speech, chérie is what you call your daughter, your partner, your dearest friend; to name a child Cherie is to inscribe that tenderness permanently into their identity.
The name entered English-speaking cultures in the early twentieth century as part of a broader romantic fascination with French vocabulary, alongside names like Renée, Danielle, and Michelle that carried a Gallic sophistication. Cherie had its strongest run in the United States between the 1940s and 1970s, when French-inflected names were both fashionable and aspirational. It was borne by Cher — born Cherilyn Sarkisian — who compressed it into one of pop culture's most recognizable monosyllables, and by Cherie Blair (née Booth), the British barrister and wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose prominent public life kept the name in the European press for over a decade.
The French spelling distinguishes it from the anglicized Sherry and the variant Cheri, giving it a slightly more formal, continental character. Cherie occupies a curious sweet spot: it sounds like a whispered endearment but carries, in practice, considerable professional and intellectual distinction.