Why "Charlie"?

[Mark A. Mandel]

Any English word beginning with "ca/co/cu" or "cl/cr" (the only other
word-initial "cC" combinations allowable in English) begins with /k/, as any
word beginning with "ce/ci/cy" begins with /s/, and could conceivably be
misheard as a word beginning with the letter "k", "q", or "s". But /tS/ has
no other spelling, so it unambiguously signals initial letter "c".

Given that constraint, "Charlie" is further
 - disyllabic, offering more phonetic cues than a monosyllable but shorter
than a trisyllable
 - trochaic, bearing the preferred accentual pattern for English disyllables
and with the stress on the syllable that includes the key initial sound
 - very common and familiar, unlike, say, "bravo" and "tango"
 - a first name, like all elements of at least one of the popular "phonetic
alphabets" in the US
 - and I don't think there's any other common word that sounds much like it

Anyone want to actually check the lexicon to see how it stacks up against
potential competitors in these or other relevant criteria?

-- Mark A. Mandel
[This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]