Girls' name · since 1951
Carly
Carly has 66,466 recorded births since 1951 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1995 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #498 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,010 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 66,466
- born since 1951
- 1990s
- peak decade
66,466 babies have been named Carly since 1951, making it today's #1010 girls' name.
Carly has 66,466 recorded births among girls since 1951, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1010 as of the latest data, more common than 94% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1951 to 2025.
- #498 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,010 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 66,466 born since 1951
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Carly ranks #498 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,010 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 66,466 born since 1951, peaking in the 1990s.
- #498 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,010 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 66,466
- born since 1951
- 1990s
- peak decade
Carly's 66,466 recorded births place it above 99.31% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Carly compares
66,466 Top 3% higher than 97% 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
Carly's all-time total is 177x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Carly | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 66,466 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 2,585 | 21 | 19,840 |
Carly's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Carly splits its recorded history at 1996: 56% of all births land in the more recent half, 44% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1953 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1995 peak of 2,585 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Carly popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1951–2025
- Peak year (1995)
- 2,585
- Annual births at peak, across 75 years of records
Carly popularity over time - boys
160 total births recorded since 1973 (Carly as boys' name)
Carly by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (22,791 births, 34% of the file).
1990s was Carly's strongest decade.
22,791 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 34% of all-time use.
Carly births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1950s 24
1950s
24 births
- 1960s 7
1960s
7 births
- 1970s 2,980
1970s
2,980 births
- 1980s
1980s
12,475 births
- 1990s
1990s
22,791 births
- 2000s
2000s
16,688 births
- 2010s
2010s
9,300 births
- 2020s 2,201
2020s
2,201 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 22,791 births (34% of all-time use).
How Carly 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 Carly's total volume
Carly by state
Where Carly concentrates geographically, total births since 1951
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 6,437 | 9.7% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 4,426 | 6.7% |
| #3 | New York | | 4,264 | 6.4% |
| #4 | Texas | | 3,639 | 5.5% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 3,373 | 5.1% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 3,070 | 4.6% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 3,057 | 4.6% |
| #8 | Florida | | 2,937 | 4.4% |
6,437 of 66,466 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Carly appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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When was Carly most popular? ▼
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What names are similar to Carly? ▼
What to do with Carly's data
- Carly's decade-level peak was the 1990s (22,791 total births); usage has since declined to 2,201 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Carlys (6,437 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 Carly
Nearby Names Like Carly
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Carly
Compare Carly side by side: Carly vs Carol Carly vs Carolyn Carly vs Carrie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Carly
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Carly: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1995)
Similar record span (~74 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, 1951–2025 (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 Carly 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.