Carlene
Carlene was given to 5 girls in 2025, #15,369 among girls’ names; 15,225 Americans have been recorded with it since 1895 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 9,880 Americans named Carlene and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (65% of everyone recorded); the median is 66 years old and half are between 53 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carlene by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Carlene mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Carlene is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.”
A 20th-century coinage from Carl and the ending -ene, -lene, as in Marlene and Charlene.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Carlene?
#15,369 among girls’ names, 2025
Carlene fell from #7,036 in 2015 to #15,369 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 9.5 to 3.1 per million.
370 babies in 1955, the peak
Carlene peaked in 1955, when 370 girls were given it, #472 among girls’ names. The 5 births of 2025 are 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #15,369 | under 0.01 |
| 2024 | 12 | #8,546 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 7 | #12,394 | under 0.01 |
| 2022 | 15 | #7,342 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 9 | #10,449 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 12 | #8,494 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 14 | #7,815 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 20 | #6,061 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 16 | #7,159 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 18 | #6,708 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (122)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 17 | #7,036 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 19 | #6,503 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 18 | #6,788 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 17 | #7,201 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 23 | #5,769 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 21 | #6,221 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 32 | #4,591 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 34 | #4,473 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 31 | #4,711 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 35 | #4,177 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 38 | #3,813 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 33 | #4,183 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 38 | #3,669 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 34 | #3,820 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 49 | #2,927 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 82 | #2,013 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 23 | #4,742 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 40 | #3,126 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 34 | #3,377 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 49 | #2,560 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 59 | #2,246 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 64 | #2,123 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 75 | #1,882 | 0.04 |
| 1992 | 68 | #2,008 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 90 | #1,655 | 0.05 |
| 1990 | 80 | #1,794 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 75 | #1,784 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 62 | #1,949 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 64 | #1,815 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 71 | #1,657 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 77 | #1,563 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 79 | #1,461 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 82 | #1,426 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 93 | #1,337 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 87 | #1,407 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 98 | #1,301 | 0.06 |
| 1979 | 88 | #1,397 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 76 | #1,490 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 73 | #1,500 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 84 | #1,299 | 0.06 |
| 1975 | 86 | #1,292 | 0.06 |
| 1974 | 108 | #1,084 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 107 | #1,075 | 0.07 |
| 1972 | 114 | #1,022 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 141 | #919 | 0.08 |
| 1970 | 150 | #885 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 189 | #737 | 0.11 |
| 1968 | 152 | #824 | 0.09 |
| 1967 | 180 | #731 | 0.11 |
| 1966 | 205 | #680 | 0.12 |
| 1965 | 239 | #632 | 0.14 |
| 1964 | 267 | #612 | 0.14 |
| 1963 | 262 | #622 | 0.14 |
| 1962 | 276 | #601 | 0.14 |
| 1961 | 302 | #577 | 0.15 |
| 1960 | 317 | #545 | 0.16 |
| 1959 | 333 | #531 | 0.16 |
| 1958 | 355 | #513 | 0.18 |
| 1957 | 342 | #515 | 0.17 |
| 1956 | 301 | #540 | 0.15 |
| 1955 | 370 | #472 | 0.19 |
| 1954 | 302 | #510 | 0.16 |
| 1953 | 339 | #459 | 0.18 |
| 1952 | 340 | #458 | 0.18 |
| 1951 | 290 | #483 | 0.16 |
| 1950 | 330 | #443 | 0.19 |
| 1949 | 298 | #464 | 0.17 |
| 1948 | 316 | #449 | 0.19 |
| 1947 | 353 | #435 | 0.20 |
| 1946 | 315 | #436 | 0.20 |
| 1945 | 257 | #443 | 0.20 |
| 1944 | 270 | #437 | 0.20 |
| 1943 | 309 | #415 | 0.22 |
| 1942 | 293 | #419 | 0.22 |
| 1941 | 321 | #380 | 0.27 |
| 1940 | 294 | #395 | 0.26 |
| 1939 | 294 | #384 | 0.27 |
| 1938 | 277 | #400 | 0.25 |
| 1937 | 254 | #405 | 0.24 |
| 1936 | 285 | #378 | 0.27 |
| 1935 | 234 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1934 | 256 | #409 | 0.25 |
| 1933 | 208 | #453 | 0.21 |
| 1932 | 175 | #499 | 0.16 |
| 1931 | 156 | #527 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 134 | #594 | 0.12 |
| 1929 | 140 | #578 | 0.13 |
| 1928 | 119 | #645 | 0.10 |
| 1927 | 92 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1926 | 101 | #722 | 0.09 |
| 1925 | 67 | #907 | 0.06 |
| 1924 | 79 | #846 | 0.06 |
| 1923 | 64 | #914 | 0.05 |
| 1922 | 58 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1921 | 54 | #1,017 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 65 | #905 | 0.05 |
| 1919 | 53 | #987 | 0.05 |
| 1918 | 47 | #1,063 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 45 | #1,056 | 0.04 |
| 1916 | 37 | #1,171 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 42 | #1,025 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 28 | #1,153 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 17 | #1,411 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 14 | #1,488 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 13 | #1,315 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 9 | #1,650 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 9 | #1,489 | 0.03 |
| 1908 | 13 | #1,146 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 5 | #2,116 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,433 | 0.03 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,924 | 0.02 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,629 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Carlene a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Carlene has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 122 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Carlene: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carlene, and how old are they?
9,880 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 65% of the 15,225 Americans ever recorded as Carlene. The median Carlene alive today is 66 years old; half are between 53 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 11,283 people named Carlene (11,260 women and girls, 23 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 11,123 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,430 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,640 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,920 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,140 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 558 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 181 |
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 Carlene born?
The states with the most babies named Carlene are California, Illinois and New York, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,202 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 745 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 726 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Texas | 564 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 556 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 552 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 519 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Massachusetts | 416 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Maine | 401 | not ranked | 4.2× |
| Tennessee | 383 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Carlene is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carlene is most over-represented in Maine: since 1910 it was given 4.2 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 Carlene 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 279,077 babies since 1880, Carlene is the second most given (5.5% of them). In 2025 it was given to 5 of their 2,689 babies (<1%), the sixth 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 Carlene
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 Carlene and names like it
- Compare Carlene and CarolineBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sCarlene peaked in 1955.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carlene since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Carlene: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1955The year the most babies were named Carlene.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Carlene alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.