Girls' name · since 1910
Carlena
1,426 babies named Carlena in U.S. Social Security records since 1910, with the highest year being 1975. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #5,896 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #10,986 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,426
- born since 1910
- 1970s
- peak decade
Yes -- Carlena is the #10986 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 1,426 recorded since 1910.
Carlena has 1,426 recorded births among girls since 1910, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #10986 as of the latest data, more common than 36% of girls, busiest in the 1970s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1910 to 2025.
- #5,896 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #10,986 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 1,426 born since 1910
- 1970s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Carlena ranks #5,896 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,986 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,426 born since 1910, peaking in the 1970s.
- #5,896 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #10,986 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,426
- born since 1910
- 1970s
- peak decade
Carlena's 1,426 recorded births place it above 91.84% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 3 jurisdictions, led by California.
How Carlena compares
1,426 Top 27% higher than 73% 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
Carlena's all-time total is 4x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Carlena | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,426 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 42 | 21 | 19,840 |
Carlena's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Carlena's full recorded timeline at 1971, 59% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 41% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1912, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1975 peak of 42 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Carlena popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1910–2025
- Peak year (1975)
- 42
- Annual births at peak, across 116 years of records
Carlena by decade
1970s is the heaviest window (227 births, 16% of the file).
1970s was Carlena's strongest decade.
227 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 16% of all-time use.
Carlena births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 40
1910s
40 births
- 1920s 70
1920s
70 births
- 1930s 62
1930s
62 births
- 1940s 90
1940s
90 births
- 1950s
1950s
111 births
- 1960s
1960s
191 births
- 1970s
1970s
227 births
- 1980s
1980s
207 births
- 1990s
1990s
174 births
- 2000s
2000s
125 births
- 2010s
2010s
97 births
- 2020s 32
2020s
32 births
What this shows Peak: 1970s at 227 births (16% of all-time use).
How Carlena 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 Carlena's total volume
Carlena by state
Where Carlena concentrates geographically, total births since 1910
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 21 | 1.5% |
| #2 | Alabama | | 5 | 0.4% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 5 | 0.4% |
21 of 1,426 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 3 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Carlena? ▼
Where does Carlena sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Carlena most popular? ▼
Where is Carlena most popular? ▼
How long has the name Carlena been used? ▼
What names are similar to Carlena? ▼
What to do with Carlena's data
- Carlena's decade-level peak was the 1970s (227 total births); usage has since declined to 32 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Carlenas (21 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 Carlena
Nearby Names Like Carlena
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Carlena
Compare Carlena side by side: Carlena vs Carol Carlena vs Carolyn Carlena vs Carrie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Carlena
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Carlena: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1975)
Similar record span (~115 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, 1910–2025 (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 Carlena 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.