Girls' name · since 1890
Carla
Carla has 150,390 recorded births since 1890 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1962 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #264 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,082 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 150,390
- born since 1890
- 1960s
- peak decade
150,390 babies have been named Carla since 1890, making it today's #1082 girls' name.
Carla has 150,390 recorded births among girls since 1890, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1082 as of the latest data, more common than 94% of girls, busiest in the 1960s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1890 to 2025.
- #264 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,082 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 150,390 born since 1890
- 1960s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Carla ranks #264 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,082 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 150,390 born since 1890, peaking in the 1960s.
- #264 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,082 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 150,390
- born since 1890
- 1960s
- peak decade
Carla's 150,390 recorded births place it above 99.63% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Carla compares
150,390 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Carla's all-time total is 400x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Carla | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 150,390 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 5,820 | 21 | 19,840 |
Carla's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Carla's full recorded timeline at 1963, 61% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 39% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1890, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1962 peak of 5,820 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Carla popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1890–2025
- Peak year (1962)
- 5,820
- Annual births at peak, across 136 years of records
Carla popularity over time - boys
425 total births recorded since 1946 (Carla as boys' name)
Carla by decade
1960s is the heaviest window (47,905 births, 32% of the file).
1960s was Carla's strongest decade.
47,905 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 32% of all-time use.
Carla births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 11
1890s
11 births
- 1900s 54
1900s
54 births
- 1910s 171
1910s
171 births
- 1920s 550
1920s
550 births
- 1930s 2,262
1930s
2,262 births
- 1940s 9,486
1940s
9,486 births
- 1950s
1950s
29,432 births
- 1960s
1960s
47,905 births
- 1970s
1970s
26,841 births
- 1980s 14,455
1980s
14,455 births
- 1990s 8,400
1990s
8,400 births
- 2000s 6,167
2000s
6,167 births
- 2010s 3,155
2010s
3,155 births
- 2020s 1,501
2020s
1,501 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 47,905 births (32% of all-time use).
How Carla compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Carla's total volume
Carla by state
Where Carla concentrates geographically, total births since 1890
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 15,877 | 10.6% |
| #2 | Texas | | 12,628 | 8.4% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 8,427 | 5.6% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 8,256 | 5.5% |
| #5 | New York | | 7,247 | 4.8% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 6,252 | 4.2% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 5,233 | 3.5% |
| #8 | Florida | | 4,965 | 3.3% |
15,877 of 150,390 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Carla appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Carla? ▼
Where does Carla sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Carla most popular? ▼
Where is Carla most popular? ▼
How long has the name Carla been used? ▼
What names are similar to Carla? ▼
What to do with Carla's data
- Carla's decade-level peak was the 1960s (47,905 total births); usage has since declined to 1,501 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Carlas (15,877 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Carla
Nearby Names Like Carla
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Carla
Compare Carla side by side: Carla vs Carol Carla vs Carolyn Carla vs Carrie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Carla
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Carla: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1962)
Similar record span (~135 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1890–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Carla draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.