Boys' name · since 1881
Carter
206,833 babies named Carter in U.S. Social Security records since 1881, with the highest year being 2015. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #180 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #45 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 206,833
- born since 1881
- 2010s
- peak decade
206,833 babies have been named Carter since 1881, making it today's #45 boys' name.
Carter has 206,833 recorded births among boys since 1881, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #45 as of the latest data, more common than 99.7% of boys, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1881 to 2025.
- #180 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #45 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 206,833 born since 1881
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Carter ranks #180 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #45 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 206,833 born since 1881, peaking in the 2010s.
- #180 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #45 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 206,833
- born since 1881
- 2010s
- peak decade
Carter's 206,833 recorded births place it above 99.6% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Carter compares
206,833 Top 2% higher than 98% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys 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
Carter's all-time total is 561x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Carter | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 206,833 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 10,814 | 34 | 22,252 |
Carter's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Carter's full recorded timeline at 1954, 98% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 2% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1890, with just 8 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2015 peak of 10,814 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Carter popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1881–2025
- Peak year (2015)
- 10,814
- Annual births at peak, across 145 years of records
Carter popularity over time - girls
10,038 total births recorded since 1918 (Carter as girls' name)
Carter by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (95,261 births, 46% of the file).
2010s was Carter's strongest decade.
95,261 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 46% of all-time use.
Carter births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 100
1880s
100 births
- 1890s 134
1890s
134 births
- 1900s 199
1900s
199 births
- 1910s 680
1910s
680 births
- 1920s 881
1920s
881 births
- 1930s 863
1930s
863 births
- 1940s 1,340
1940s
1,340 births
- 1950s 1,612
1950s
1,612 births
- 1960s 1,345
1960s
1,345 births
- 1970s 1,359
1970s
1,359 births
- 1980s 1,680
1980s
1,680 births
- 1990s 9,725
1990s
9,725 births
- 2000s
2000s
52,320 births
- 2010s
2010s
95,261 births
- 2020s
2020s
39,334 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 95,261 births (46% of all-time use).
How Carter compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Carter's total volume
Carter by state
Where Carter concentrates geographically, total births since 1881
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 13,774 | 6.7% |
| #2 | California | | 12,413 | 6.0% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 11,036 | 5.3% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 9,250 | 4.5% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 8,972 | 4.3% |
| #6 | New York | | 8,972 | 4.3% |
| #7 | Florida | | 8,944 | 4.3% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 7,912 | 3.8% |
13,774 of 206,833 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Carter appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Carter? ▼
Where does Carter sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Carter most popular? ▼
Where is Carter most popular? ▼
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What to do with Carter's data
- Carter's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (95,261 total births) through the 2020s (39,334) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Texas records the most Carters (13,774 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Carter
Nearby Names Like Carter
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Carter
Compare Carter side by side: Carter vs Carl Carter vs Carlos Carter vs Carson
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Carter
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Carter: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2015)
Similar record span (~144 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, 1881–2025 (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 Carter 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.