girls' name ★ peaked 1961

Carla

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,083 Trend → Stable
Rank 2025
#1,083
among girls · ↓74 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
223
named Carla · -12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 7,207
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1961
5,829 babies
All-time total
150,815
#264 all-time among girls
First recorded
1890
in Social Security records

Carla popularity over time

150,815 babies have been named Carla since 1890, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s 11 – 11 1 – #1,303
1900s 54 – 54 5 +391% #1,236
1910s 171 – 171 17 +217% #1,078
1920s 550 – 550 55 +222% #617
1930s 2,262 – 2,262 226 +311% #342
1940s 9,486 11 9,497 950 +320% #180
1950s 29,432 58 29,490 2,949 +211% #118
1960s 47,905 119 48,024 4,802 +63% #76
1970s 26,841 98 26,939 2,694 -44% #94
1980s 14,455 104 14,559 1,456 -46% #152
1990s 8,400 35 8,435 844 -42% #263
2000s 6,167 – 6,167 617 -27% #386
2010s 3,155 – 3,155 316 -49% #750
2020s (to 2025) 1,501 – 1,501 250 -21% #927

Where Carla is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 223 0.14 outside top 500
2027 224 0.14 outside top 500
2028 224 0.14 outside top 500
2029 225 0.14 outside top 500
2030 225 0.14 outside top 500

Where Carla is most popular

Girls named Carla per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.155 per 1,000. Strongest in Arizona, Florida, and Texas.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Carla born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Arizona 43 0.306 +98%
Florida 118 0.276 +78%
Texas 212 0.264 +70%
California 203 0.241 +56%
New Jersey 41 0.227 +47%
New York 89 0.225 +45%
Connecticut 13 0.223 +44%
Georgia 43 0.189 +22%
Illinois 41 0.179 +16%
Tennessee 25 0.158 ≈ national
Colorado 16 0.143 -7%
Virginia 24 0.141 -9%
South Carolina 12 0.133 -14%
Maryland 14 0.132 -15%
Nevada 5 0.108 -30%
Alabama 10 0.107 -31%
Michigan 18 0.099 -36%
Pennsylvania 23 0.097 -37%
Indiana 13 0.093 -40%
Ohio 21 0.089 -43%
North Carolina 19 0.083 -46%
Massachusetts 9 0.074 -52%
Louisiana 5 0.057 -63%
Minnesota 5 0.046 -70%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Carla

Carla is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,083 in 2025 with 223 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1890, 150,815 American babies have been named Carla. Its peak came in 1961, when 5,829 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1960s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Carla stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Carla?

The median living Carla is about 58 years old; half are between 46 and 65. An estimated 134 thousand people named Carla are alive in the United States today.

median 58 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Carla year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 223 #1,083 – –
2024 254 #1,009 – –
2023 267 #967 – –
2022 291 #927 – –
2021 221 #1,117 – –
2020 245 #1,024 – –
2019 253 #1,018 – –
2018 255 #1,019 – –
2017 279 #948 – –
2016 323 #870 – –
2015 318 #875 – –
2014 320 #860 – –
2013 300 #860 – –
2012 371 #751 – –
2011 368 #750 – –
2010 368 #753 – –
2009 440 #665 – –
2008 531 #580 – –
2007 579 #540 – –
2006 610 #499 – –
2005 585 #509 – –
2004 629 #470 – –
2003 648 #462 – –
2002 764 #386 – –
2001 674 #421 – –
2000 707 #404 – –
1995 764 #344 5 #9,060
1990 1,092 #263 7 #6,502
1985 1,397 #194 11 #3,834
1980 1,833 #152 12 #3,446
1975 2,314 #122 10 #3,470
1970 4,214 #94 16 #2,310
1965 4,781 #76 14 #2,195
1960 4,375 #110 8 #3,127
1955 3,066 #135 7 #3,234
1950 1,753 #160 – –
1945 862 #222 – –
1940 440 #299 – –
1935 214 #441 – –
1930 153 #551 – –
1925 39 #1,254 – –
1920 26 #1,630 – –
1915 23 #1,528 – –
1910 8 #1,794 – –
1905 5 #1,982 – –
1900 5 #1,971 – –
1895 – – – –
1890 5 #1,358 – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Carla

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Carla Gugino Carla Gugino American actress (born 1971) Contemporary
  2. 2 Carla Bruni Carla Bruni Italian-French musician and model (born 1967) Contemporary
  3. 3 Carla Gallo American actress b. 1975 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Carla Juri Carla Juri Swiss actress (born 1985) Contemporary
  5. 5 Carla Abellana Carla Abellana Filipino actress (born 1986) Contemporary
  6. 6 Carla Bley Carla Bley American jazz composer (1936–2023) Contemporary
  7. 7 Carla Gravina Carla Gravina Italian actress b. 1941 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Carla Laemmle Carla Laemmle American actress (1909-2014) Contemporary
  9. 9 Carla Suárez Navarro Carla Suárez Navarro Spanish tennis player (born 1988) Contemporary
  10. 10 Carla Del Ponte Carla Del Ponte Swiss prosecutor and diplomat (born 1947) Contemporary
  11. 11 Carla Sacramento Portuguese middle-distance runner (born 1971) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Carla, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Carla?

The median living Carla is about 58 years old. Half of all living Carlas are between 46 and 65 years old.

How many people named Carla are alive today?

An estimated 134 thousand people named Carla are alive in the United States, based on 150,815 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Carla in 2025?

Carla ranked #1,083 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 223 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Carla?

150,815 babies have been named Carla in the United States since 1890, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Carla most popular?

Carla peaked in 1961, when 5,829 newborns received the name.

Is Carla a boy or girl name?

Carla is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Carla rising or falling?

Carla has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Carla become more popular?

Carla looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 225 girls named Carla in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Carla?

Well-known people named Carla include Carla Gugino (actor), Carla Bruni (model), Carla Gallo (actor).

Names like Carla

Names that sound and feel close to Carla: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Carla with similar names → More names starting with C →