Carter
Carter is given to both girls and boys: 679 girls and 6,024 boys were given it in 2025 (#454 among girls’ names and #45 among boys’, #53 among all names counting both); 216,871 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 210,000 Americans named Carter and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (97% of everyone recorded); the median is 12 years old and half are between 8 and 19.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carter by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Carter mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Carter is “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
As an English name, from the occupation carter. As an Irish name, from Irish Mac Artúir (literally “son of Arthur”).
/ˈkɑɹtɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Carter?
#45 among boys’ names, 2025
Carter fell from #24 in 2015 to #45 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 5.6 to 3.5 per 1,000.
11,395 babies in 2015, the peak
Carter peaked in 2015, when 11,395 babies were given it (10,814 boys, #24 among boys’ names). The 6,703 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 59% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6,024 | #45 | 3.5 |
| 2024 | 6,289 | #46 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 5,878 | #48 | 3.4 |
| 2022 | 6,361 | #47 | 3.6 |
| 2021 | 7,205 | #39 | 4.1 |
| 2020 | 7,577 | #33 | 4.4 |
| 2019 | 8,682 | #30 | 4.8 |
| 2018 | 9,385 | #24 | 5.2 |
| 2017 | 9,833 | #24 | 5.3 |
| 2016 | 10,220 | #26 | 5.4 |
Every recorded year (144)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 10,814 | #24 | 5.6 |
| 2014 | 10,691 | #27 | 5.6 |
| 2013 | 9,590 | #33 | 5.1 |
| 2012 | 9,274 | #36 | 4.9 |
| 2011 | 8,608 | #41 | 4.5 |
| 2010 | 8,164 | #48 | 4.3 |
| 2009 | 8,173 | #50 | 4.1 |
| 2008 | 7,069 | #65 | 3.5 |
| 2007 | 6,101 | #80 | 2.9 |
| 2006 | 6,433 | #75 | 3.1 |
| 2005 | 5,899 | #77 | 3.0 |
| 2004 | 5,009 | #89 | 2.5 |
| 2003 | 4,171 | #102 | 2.1 |
| 2002 | 3,480 | #108 | 1.8 |
| 2001 | 3,435 | #111 | 1.8 |
| 2000 | 2,550 | #152 | 1.3 |
| 1999 | 1,944 | #179 | 1.0 |
| 1998 | 1,800 | #189 | 0.94 |
| 1997 | 1,540 | #204 | 0.82 |
| 1996 | 1,216 | #243 | 0.64 |
| 1995 | 919 | #286 | 0.48 |
| 1994 | 544 | #421 | 0.28 |
| 1993 | 550 | #419 | 0.28 |
| 1992 | 487 | #450 | 0.24 |
| 1991 | 391 | #498 | 0.19 |
| 1990 | 334 | #548 | 0.16 |
| 1989 | 294 | #564 | 0.15 |
| 1988 | 265 | #569 | 0.14 |
| 1987 | 213 | #625 | 0.11 |
| 1986 | 182 | #665 | 0.10 |
| 1985 | 175 | #670 | 0.09 |
| 1984 | 137 | #744 | 0.08 |
| 1983 | 116 | #811 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 119 | #810 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 86 | #972 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 93 | #924 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 64 | #1,118 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 71 | #1,034 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 121 | #773 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 158 | #651 | 0.10 |
| 1975 | 162 | #637 | 0.10 |
| 1974 | 142 | #686 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 131 | #700 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 163 | #617 | 0.10 |
| 1971 | 191 | #600 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 156 | #655 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 150 | #646 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 124 | #675 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 140 | #634 | 0.08 |
| 1966 | 127 | #656 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 113 | #698 | 0.06 |
| 1964 | 132 | #669 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 158 | #621 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 130 | #680 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 132 | #673 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 139 | #664 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 132 | #665 | 0.06 |
| 1958 | 166 | #600 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 139 | #651 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 176 | #573 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 149 | #606 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 191 | #527 | 0.09 |
| 1953 | 161 | #556 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 156 | #558 | 0.08 |
| 1951 | 172 | #521 | 0.09 |
| 1950 | 170 | #514 | 0.09 |
| 1949 | 178 | #494 | 0.10 |
| 1948 | 150 | #542 | 0.09 |
| 1947 | 178 | #502 | 0.10 |
| 1946 | 149 | #524 | 0.09 |
| 1945 | 124 | #537 | 0.09 |
| 1944 | 122 | #548 | 0.09 |
| 1943 | 130 | #553 | 0.09 |
| 1942 | 112 | #588 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 109 | #569 | 0.09 |
| 1940 | 88 | #635 | 0.08 |
| 1939 | 77 | #675 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 106 | #568 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 99 | #580 | 0.09 |
| 1936 | 98 | #582 | 0.09 |
| 1935 | 101 | #576 | 0.10 |
| 1934 | 97 | #597 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 77 | #670 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 68 | #766 | 0.07 |
| 1931 | 78 | #678 | 0.08 |
| 1930 | 62 | #824 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 71 | #754 | 0.07 |
| 1928 | 78 | #724 | 0.07 |
| 1927 | 85 | #702 | 0.08 |
| 1926 | 89 | #671 | 0.08 |
| 1925 | 89 | #679 | 0.08 |
| 1924 | 112 | #604 | 0.10 |
| 1923 | 83 | #712 | 0.08 |
| 1922 | 93 | #666 | 0.09 |
| 1921 | 83 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 98 | #636 | 0.09 |
| 1919 | 107 | #580 | 0.11 |
| 1918 | 95 | #628 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 91 | #620 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 83 | #641 | 0.09 |
| 1915 | 78 | #658 | 0.09 |
| 1914 | 92 | #509 | 0.14 |
| 1913 | 37 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1912 | 45 | #612 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 26 | #597 | 0.12 |
| 1910 | 26 | #557 | 0.13 |
| 1909 | 22 | #559 | 0.13 |
| 1908 | 25 | #500 | 0.16 |
| 1907 | 18 | #595 | 0.12 |
| 1906 | 15 | #620 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 16 | #595 | 0.12 |
| 1904 | 25 | #418 | 0.20 |
| 1903 | 23 | #415 | 0.19 |
| 1902 | 11 | #695 | 0.09 |
| 1901 | 13 | #569 | 0.12 |
| 1900 | 31 | #403 | 0.21 |
| 1899 | 14 | #524 | 0.13 |
| 1898 | 14 | #579 | 0.11 |
| 1897 | 16 | #501 | 0.14 |
| 1896 | 13 | #602 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 9 | #746 | 0.08 |
| 1894 | 16 | #504 | 0.14 |
| 1893 | 13 | #545 | 0.12 |
| 1892 | 18 | #464 | 0.15 |
| 1891 | 13 | #500 | 0.13 |
| 1890 | 8 | #757 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 11 | #591 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 15 | #507 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 13 | #495 | 0.13 |
| 1886 | 15 | #474 | 0.14 |
| 1885 | 10 | #613 | 0.09 |
| 1884 | 13 | #526 | 0.11 |
| 1883 | 11 | #561 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 12 | #506 | 0.12 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Carter a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 216,871 Americans recorded as Carter, 5% are girls and 95% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Carter: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carter, and how old are they?
210,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 97% of the 216,871 Americans ever recorded as Carter. The median Carter alive today is 12 years old; half are between 8 and 19.
The 2020 Census counted 160,407 people named Carter (6,252 women and girls, 154,155 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 170,507 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 384 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,010 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,970 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 6,240 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 84,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 115,000 |
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 Carter born?
The states with the most babies named Carter are Texas, California and Florida, with 21% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 559 | #80 | 0.7× |
| California | 446 | #102 | 0.5× |
| Florida | 401 | #49 | 0.8× |
| New York | 315 | #57 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 307 | #24 | 1.4× |
| North Carolina | 294 | #28 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 285 | #31 | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 264 | #25 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 219 | #43 | 0.9× |
| Virginia | 206 | #33 | 1.2× |
Where Carter is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carter is most over-represented in Iowa: since 1910 it was given 1.7 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 Carter 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 256,254 babies since 1880, Carter is the most given (85% of them). In 2025 it was given to 6,703 of their 8,620 babies (78%), again the most given.
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 Carter
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 Carter and names like it
- Compare Carter and KarterBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sCarter peaked in 2015.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carter since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Carter: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2015The year the most babies were named Carter.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Carter alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with CMost given first.