Carla
Carla was given to 223 girls in 2025, #1,083 among girls’ names; 150,815 Americans have been recorded with it since 1890 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 130,000 Americans named Carla and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (86% of everyone recorded); the median is 58 years old and half are between 46 and 66.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carla by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Carla mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Carla is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.”
From German and Italian Carla. By surface analysis, Carl + -a.
/ˈkɑɹlə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Carla?
#1,083 among girls’ names, 2025
Carla fell from #875 in 2015 to #1,083 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.18 to 0.14 per 1,000.
5,829 babies in 1961, the peak
Carla peaked in 1961, when 5,829 babies were given it (5,817 girls, #77 among girls’ names). The 223 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 223 | #1,083 | 0.14 |
| 2024 | 254 | #1,009 | 0.16 |
| 2023 | 267 | #967 | 0.17 |
| 2022 | 291 | #927 | 0.18 |
| 2021 | 221 | #1,117 | 0.13 |
| 2020 | 245 | #1,024 | 0.15 |
| 2019 | 253 | #1,018 | 0.15 |
| 2018 | 255 | #1,019 | 0.15 |
| 2017 | 279 | #948 | 0.16 |
| 2016 | 323 | #870 | 0.18 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 318 | #875 | 0.18 |
| 2014 | 320 | #860 | 0.18 |
| 2013 | 300 | #860 | 0.17 |
| 2012 | 371 | #751 | 0.21 |
| 2011 | 368 | #750 | 0.21 |
| 2010 | 368 | #753 | 0.21 |
| 2009 | 440 | #665 | 0.24 |
| 2008 | 531 | #580 | 0.28 |
| 2007 | 579 | #540 | 0.30 |
| 2006 | 610 | #499 | 0.32 |
| 2005 | 585 | #509 | 0.32 |
| 2004 | 629 | #470 | 0.34 |
| 2003 | 648 | #462 | 0.35 |
| 2002 | 764 | #386 | 0.43 |
| 2001 | 674 | #421 | 0.37 |
| 2000 | 707 | #404 | 0.39 |
| 1999 | 679 | #410 | 0.38 |
| 1998 | 668 | #406 | 0.38 |
| 1997 | 725 | #373 | 0.42 |
| 1996 | 769 | #359 | 0.44 |
| 1995 | 764 | #344 | 0.43 |
| 1994 | 798 | #336 | 0.45 |
| 1993 | 882 | #303 | 0.49 |
| 1992 | 1,014 | #276 | 0.55 |
| 1991 | 1,009 | #275 | 0.54 |
| 1990 | 1,092 | #263 | 0.58 |
| 1989 | 1,067 | #252 | 0.58 |
| 1988 | 1,086 | #243 | 0.61 |
| 1987 | 1,198 | #225 | 0.69 |
| 1986 | 1,344 | #193 | 0.78 |
| 1985 | 1,397 | #194 | 0.81 |
| 1984 | 1,454 | #189 | 0.86 |
| 1983 | 1,528 | #178 | 0.91 |
| 1982 | 1,759 | #165 | 1.0 |
| 1981 | 1,789 | #160 | 1.1 |
| 1980 | 1,833 | #152 | 1.1 |
| 1979 | 1,969 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1978 | 2,102 | #132 | 1.4 |
| 1977 | 2,097 | #137 | 1.4 |
| 1976 | 2,249 | #122 | 1.5 |
| 1975 | 2,314 | #122 | 1.6 |
| 1974 | 2,571 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1973 | 2,686 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1972 | 3,083 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1971 | 3,556 | #107 | 2.1 |
| 1970 | 4,214 | #94 | 2.4 |
| 1969 | 3,964 | #90 | 2.3 |
| 1968 | 3,813 | #91 | 2.3 |
| 1967 | 4,185 | #82 | 2.5 |
| 1966 | 4,508 | #77 | 2.7 |
| 1965 | 4,781 | #76 | 2.7 |
| 1964 | 5,378 | #78 | 2.8 |
| 1963 | 5,264 | #82 | 2.7 |
| 1962 | 5,820 | #78 | 3.0 |
| 1961 | 5,817 | #77 | 2.9 |
| 1960 | 4,375 | #110 | 2.2 |
| 1959 | 3,935 | #118 | 1.9 |
| 1958 | 3,502 | #126 | 1.7 |
| 1957 | 3,470 | #128 | 1.7 |
| 1956 | 3,320 | #130 | 1.7 |
| 1955 | 3,066 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1954 | 2,889 | #135 | 1.5 |
| 1953 | 2,760 | #129 | 1.5 |
| 1952 | 2,565 | #138 | 1.4 |
| 1951 | 2,172 | #147 | 1.2 |
| 1950 | 1,753 | #160 | 1.0 |
| 1949 | 1,498 | #187 | 0.88 |
| 1948 | 1,543 | #180 | 0.91 |
| 1947 | 1,569 | #182 | 0.89 |
| 1946 | 1,201 | #202 | 0.76 |
| 1945 | 862 | #222 | 0.66 |
| 1944 | 722 | #249 | 0.54 |
| 1943 | 642 | #277 | 0.46 |
| 1942 | 554 | #287 | 0.41 |
| 1941 | 455 | #304 | 0.38 |
| 1940 | 440 | #299 | 0.38 |
| 1939 | 347 | #342 | 0.32 |
| 1938 | 311 | #374 | 0.28 |
| 1937 | 256 | #402 | 0.24 |
| 1936 | 244 | #411 | 0.23 |
| 1935 | 214 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1934 | 200 | #459 | 0.19 |
| 1933 | 175 | #481 | 0.17 |
| 1932 | 197 | #468 | 0.18 |
| 1931 | 165 | #504 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 153 | #551 | 0.14 |
| 1929 | 124 | #617 | 0.11 |
| 1928 | 93 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1927 | 82 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1926 | 72 | #873 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 39 | #1,254 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 36 | #1,358 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 30 | #1,494 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 19 | #2,034 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 29 | #1,548 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 26 | #1,630 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 16 | #2,166 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 31 | #1,384 | 0.03 |
| 1917 | 20 | #1,782 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 21 | #1,697 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 23 | #1,528 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 17 | #1,608 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 13 | #1,687 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 5 | #3,034 | 0.01 |
| 1911 | 17 | #1,078 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,794 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 8 | #1,631 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,701 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 10 | #1,236 | 0.03 |
| 1905 | 5 | #1,981 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,834 | 0.02 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,633 | 0.02 |
| 1901 | 8 | #1,241 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 5 | #1,970 | 0.02 |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,303 | 0.03 |
| 1890 | 5 | #1,357 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Carla a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Carla has been given almost only to girls: 425 boys in 126 years of records.
Girls and boys named Carla: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carla, and how old are they?
130,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 86% of the 150,815 Americans ever recorded as Carla. The median Carla alive today is 58 years old; half are between 46 and 66.
The 2020 Census counted 144,782 people named Carla (144,540 women and girls, 242 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 134,483 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,460 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 50,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 46,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 18,500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 9,240 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,530 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Carla born?
The states with the most babies named Carla are California, Texas and Ohio, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 15,883 | #739 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 12,628 | #985 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 8,427 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 8,256 | #1,141 | 1.0× |
| New York | 7,247 | #868 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 6,252 | #1,264 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 5,233 | #1,250 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 4,965 | #873 | 1.1× |
| Missouri | 4,797 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Indiana | 4,628 | #937 | 1.1× |
Where Carla is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carla is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 1.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Carla with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 478,177 babies since 1880, Carla is the most given (32% of them). In 2025 it was given to 223 of their 1,113 babies (20%), the third most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Carla
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Carla and names like it
- Compare Carla and CaroleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sCarla peaked in 1961.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carla since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Carla: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1961The year the most babies were named Carla.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Carla alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.