Carleton
Carleton was last recorded in 2023, when 6 babies were given it; 4,839 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2023 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,940 Americans named Carleton and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (40% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 45 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carleton by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Carleton mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Carleton is “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
/ˈkɑɹ(ə)ltən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Carleton?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #11,054, in 2023; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
103 babies in 1923, the peak
Carleton peaked in 1923, when 103 boys were given it, #632 among boys’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6 | #11,054 | under 0.01 |
| 2017 | 5 | #12,595 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 6 | #10,961 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 5 | #12,581 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 12 | #6,865 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 6 | #11,278 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 17 | #5,101 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 8 | #8,403 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 7 | #9,079 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 10 | #6,795 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (129)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 16 | #4,727 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 12 | #5,717 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 11 | #5,963 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 15 | #4,562 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 19 | #3,717 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 13 | #4,694 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 13 | #4,639 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 14 | #4,303 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 12 | #4,829 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 19 | #3,379 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 27 | #2,597 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 20 | #3,118 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 28 | #2,437 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 18 | #3,217 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 23 | #2,520 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 20 | #2,644 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 30 | #1,961 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 26 | #2,124 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 38 | #1,581 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 24 | #2,146 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 26 | #2,061 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 31 | #1,815 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 27 | #2,009 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 31 | #1,791 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 40 | #1,475 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 40 | #1,455 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 33 | #1,615 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 30 | #1,664 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 34 | #1,501 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 37 | #1,377 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 18 | #2,167 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 29 | #1,639 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 45 | #1,238 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 35 | #1,355 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 34 | #1,317 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 43 | #1,134 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 36 | #1,261 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 42 | #1,166 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 56 | #1,007 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 48 | #1,101 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 38 | #1,258 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 52 | #1,079 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 50 | #1,100 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 49 | #1,103 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 68 | #916 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 61 | #970 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 76 | #860 | 0.04 |
| 1955 | 71 | #873 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 59 | #962 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 63 | #902 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 69 | #840 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 58 | #921 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 64 | #851 | 0.04 |
| 1949 | 60 | #886 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 50 | #990 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 56 | #938 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 47 | #984 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 56 | #838 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 71 | #736 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 59 | #870 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 77 | #733 | 0.06 |
| 1941 | 62 | #799 | 0.05 |
| 1940 | 61 | #794 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 58 | #801 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 55 | #836 | 0.05 |
| 1937 | 65 | #758 | 0.06 |
| 1936 | 63 | #769 | 0.06 |
| 1935 | 66 | #758 | 0.06 |
| 1934 | 59 | #810 | 0.06 |
| 1933 | 56 | #828 | 0.06 |
| 1932 | 69 | #757 | 0.07 |
| 1931 | 66 | #768 | 0.06 |
| 1930 | 65 | #804 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 71 | #753 | 0.07 |
| 1928 | 83 | #696 | 0.07 |
| 1927 | 70 | #788 | 0.06 |
| 1926 | 76 | #731 | 0.07 |
| 1925 | 80 | #723 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 99 | #644 | 0.09 |
| 1923 | 103 | #632 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 91 | #680 | 0.08 |
| 1921 | 82 | #729 | 0.07 |
| 1920 | 75 | #763 | 0.07 |
| 1919 | 80 | #695 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 91 | #645 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 66 | #775 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 87 | #627 | 0.10 |
| 1915 | 93 | #592 | 0.11 |
| 1914 | 51 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 41 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 38 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1911 | 22 | #673 | 0.10 |
| 1910 | 13 | #876 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 13 | #810 | 0.08 |
| 1908 | 14 | #715 | 0.09 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,114 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 8 | #939 | 0.06 |
| 1905 | 14 | #638 | 0.11 |
| 1904 | 12 | #690 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 8 | #854 | 0.07 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,028 | 0.05 |
| 1901 | 8 | #787 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 12 | #750 | 0.08 |
| 1899 | 6 | #952 | 0.06 |
| 1898 | 8 | #814 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 11 | #655 | 0.10 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,000 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 10 | #697 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 8 | #796 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 8 | #777 | 0.07 |
| 1892 | 11 | #646 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 14 | #479 | 0.14 |
| 1890 | 7 | #819 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 6 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 9 | #653 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 6 | #870 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 5 | #915 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 8 | #713 | 0.07 |
| 1880 | 8 | #690 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Carleton a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Carleton has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 129 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Carleton: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carleton, and how old are they?
1,940 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 40% of the 4,839 Americans ever recorded as Carleton. The median Carleton alive today is 61 years old; half are between 45 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 2,139 people named Carleton (40 women and girls, 2,099 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,257 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 220 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 720 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 488 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 349 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 148 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 17 |
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 Carleton born?
The states with the most babies named Carleton are Massachusetts, New York and Maine, with 69% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts and Maine are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 362 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| New York | 360 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Maine | 313 | not ranked | 10.3× |
| California | 124 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Michigan | 112 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 62 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 46 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Connecticut | 38 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 27 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Minnesota | 11 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Carleton is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carleton is most over-represented in Maine: since 1910 it was given 10.3 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 boys’ 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 Carleton 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 55,535 babies since 1880, Carleton is the second most given (8.7% of them). In 2025 none of their 43 babies recorded by SSA was a Carleton (SSA lists a name only with 5 or more babies of one sex).
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 Carleton
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 Carleton and names like it
- Compare Carleton and CarltonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sCarleton peaked in 1923.
- Massachusetts’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carleton since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Carleton: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1923The year the most babies were named Carleton.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Carleton alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.