Girls' name · since 1882
Carmela
24,506 babies named Carmela in U.S. Social Security records since 1882, with the highest year being 1923. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #931 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,220 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 24,506
- born since 1882
- 1920s
- peak decade
24,506 babies have been named Carmela since 1882, making it today's #1220 girls' name.
Carmela has 24,506 recorded births among girls since 1882, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1220 as of the latest data, more common than 93% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1882 to 2025.
- #931 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,220 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 24,506 born since 1882
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Carmela ranks #931 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,220 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 24,506 born since 1882, peaking in the 1920s.
- #931 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,220 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 24,506
- born since 1882
- 1920s
- peak decade
Carmela's 24,506 recorded births place it above 98.71% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
31 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Carmela compares
24,506 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Carmela's all-time total is 65x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Carmela | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 24,506 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 586 | 21 | 19,840 |
Carmela's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Carmela's full recorded timeline at 1956, 36% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 64% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1882, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1923 peak of 586 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Carmela popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1882–2025
- Peak year (1923)
- 586
- Annual births at peak, across 144 years of records
Carmela popularity over time - boys
5 total births recorded since 1984 (Carmela as boys' name)
Carmela by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (5,430 births, 22% of the file).
1920s was Carmela's strongest decade.
5,430 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Carmela births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 37
1880s
37 births
- 1890s 280
1890s
280 births
- 1900s 815
1900s
815 births
- 1910s
1910s
3,461 births
- 1920s
1920s
5,430 births
- 1930s
1930s
2,885 births
- 1940s 1,731
1940s
1,731 births
- 1950s 1,720
1950s
1,720 births
- 1960s 2,091
1960s
2,091 births
- 1970s 1,400
1970s
1,400 births
- 1980s 895
1980s
895 births
- 1990s 674
1990s
674 births
- 2000s 1,005
2000s
1,005 births
- 2010s 1,131
2010s
1,131 births
- 2020s 951
2020s
951 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 5,430 births (22% of all-time use).
How Carmela 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 Carmela's total volume
Carmela by state
Where Carmela concentrates geographically, total births since 1882
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 9,299 | 37.9% |
| #2 | New Jersey | | 2,251 | 9.2% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 1,868 | 7.6% |
| #4 | California | | 1,320 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Texas | | 920 | 3.8% |
| #6 | Massachusetts | | 852 | 3.5% |
| #7 | Connecticut | | 757 | 3.1% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 678 | 2.8% |
9,299 of 24,506 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 31 reporting states.
Carmela appears in 31 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Carmela? ▼
Where does Carmela sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Carmela most popular? ▼
Where is Carmela most popular? ▼
How long has the name Carmela been used? ▼
What names are similar to Carmela? ▼
What to do with Carmela's data
- Carmela's decade-level peak was the 1920s (5,430 total births); usage has since declined to 951 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Carmelas (9,299 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Carmela
Nearby Names Like Carmela
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Carmela
Compare Carmela side by side: Carmela vs Carol Carmela vs Carolyn Carmela vs Carrie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Carmela
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Carmela: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1923)
Similar record span (~143 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, 1882–2025 (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 Carmela 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.