Girls' name · since 1915
Karla
Karla has 91,586 recorded births since 1915 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1964 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #399 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #802 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 91,586
- born since 1915
- 1960s
- peak decade
Karla currently ranks #802 among girls' names in America, with 91,586 babies recorded since 1915.
Karla has 91,586 recorded births among girls since 1915, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #802 as of the latest data, more common than 95% of girls, busiest in the 1960s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1915 to 2025.
- #399 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #802 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 91,586 born since 1915
- 1960s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Karla ranks #399 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #802 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 91,586 born since 1915, peaking in the 1960s.
- #399 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #802 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 91,586
- born since 1915
- 1960s
- peak decade
Karla's 91,586 recorded births place it above 99.44% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Karla compares
91,586 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
Karla's all-time total is 244x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Karla | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 91,586 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 2,060 | 21 | 19,840 |
Karla's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Karla's SSA record in two at 1972 and the more recent half accounts for 61% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 39%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1919, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1964 peak of 2,060, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Karla popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1915–2025
- Peak year (1964)
- 2,060
- Annual births at peak, across 111 years of records
Karla popularity over time - boys
309 total births recorded since 1959 (Karla as boys' name)
Karla by decade
1960s is the heaviest window (17,716 births, 19% of the file).
1960s was Karla's strongest decade.
17,716 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 19% of all-time use.
Karla births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 26
1910s
26 births
- 1920s 65
1920s
65 births
- 1930s 536
1930s
536 births
- 1940s 3,102
1940s
3,102 births
- 1950s
1950s
11,462 births
- 1960s
1960s
17,716 births
- 1970s
1970s
11,367 births
- 1980s
1980s
9,360 births
- 1990s
1990s
12,873 births
- 2000s
2000s
16,145 births
- 2010s 6,555
2010s
6,555 births
- 2020s 2,379
2020s
2,379 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 17,716 births (19% of all-time use).
How Karla 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 Karla's total volume
Karla by state
Where Karla concentrates geographically, total births since 1915
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 17,703 | 19.3% |
| #2 | Texas | | 12,197 | 13.3% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 4,991 | 5.4% |
| #4 | New York | | 3,639 | 4.0% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 3,141 | 3.4% |
| #6 | Florida | | 2,965 | 3.2% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 2,632 | 2.9% |
| #8 | Iowa | | 2,243 | 2.4% |
17,703 of 91,586 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Karla appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Karla? ▼
Where does Karla sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Karla most popular? ▼
Where is Karla most popular? ▼
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What to do with Karla's data
- Karla's decade-level peak was the 1960s (17,716 total births); usage has since declined to 2,379 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Karlas (17,703 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 Karla
Nearby Names Like Karla
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Karla
Compare Karla side by side: Karla vs Karen Karla vs Kara Karla vs Karina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Karla
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Karla: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1964)
Similar record span (~110 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, 1915–2025 (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 Karla 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.