Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1998

Carley

Gender Girl · 2% boys Rank 2025 #2,725 Trend ↓ Falling 53%

A female given name from the Germanic languages, a less common spelling of Carly.

Rank 2025
#2,725
among girls · ↑332 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
63
named Carley · +19% vs 2024
How common
1 in 25,512
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1998
718 babies
All-time total
17,328
#1,177 all-time among girls
First recorded
1912
in Social Security records

Carley popularity over time

17,328 babies have been named Carley since 1912, 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
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 50 50 5 – –
1920s 129 83 212 21 +324% #1,628
1930s 112 73 185 19 -13% #2,134
1940s 78 78 156 16 -16% #2,442
1950s 60 66 126 13 -19% #3,452
1960s 38 – 38 4 -70% #4,929
1970s 443 11 454 45 +1095% #1,466
1980s 1,776 19 1,795 180 +295% #726
1990s 5,912 22 5,934 593 +231% #376
2000s 5,585 8 5,593 559 -6% #411
2010s 2,290 – 2,290 229 -59% #760
2020s (to 2025) 495 – 495 83 -64% #1,682

Where Carley 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 56 0.03 outside top 500
2027 50 0.03 outside top 500
2028 46 0.03 outside top 500
2029 43 0.03 outside top 500
2030 40 0.02 outside top 500

Where Carley is most popular

Girls named Carley per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.048 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Missouri, and Louisiana.

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 Carley 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
Mississippi 5 0.107 +124%
Missouri 12 0.100 +109%
Louisiana 6 0.069 +44%
Alabama 6 0.064 +34%
Wisconsin 5 0.049 ≈ national
Ohio 11 0.046 ≈ national
Tennessee 7 0.044 -7%
Pennsylvania 10 0.042 -11%
Texas 34 0.042 -11%
Illinois 6 0.026 -45%
Florida 5 0.012 -76%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
California – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
New York – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
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 Carley

Carley is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,725 in 2025 with 63 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1912, 17,328 American babies have been named Carley. Its peak came in 1998, when 718 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

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 Carley stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Carley?

The median living Carley is about 25 years old; half are between 18 and 32. An estimated 17 thousand people named Carley are alive in the United States today.

median 25 020406080100

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

Carley 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 63 #2,725 – –
2024 53 #3,057 – –
2023 62 #2,760 – –
2022 86 #2,196 – –
2021 123 #1,682 – –
2020 108 #1,822 – –
2019 134 #1,588 – –
2018 151 #1,453 – –
2017 147 #1,508 – –
2016 171 #1,372 – –
2015 234 #1,106 – –
2014 237 #1,080 – –
2013 293 #882 – –
2012 272 #940 – –
2011 291 #896 – –
2010 360 #760 – –
2009 402 #720 – –
2008 489 #632 – –
2007 563 #546 – –
2006 533 #552 – –
2005 628 #486 – –
2004 567 #512 8 #8,254
2003 537 #526 – –
2002 572 #488 – –
2001 607 #457 – –
2000 687 #411 – –
1995 618 #418 6 #7,940
1990 271 #761 5 #8,296
1985 176 #901 – –
1980 84 #1,448 – –
1975 41 #2,100 – –
1970 – – – –
1965 5 #6,639 – –
1960 – – – –
1955 6 #5,295 6 #3,554
1950 10 #3,452 7 #3,067
1945 5 #4,636 8 #2,590
1940 12 #2,442 14 #1,911
1935 6 #3,811 7 #3,000
1930 14 #2,322 8 #3,057
1925 9 #3,399 7 #3,460
1920 – – 15 #2,150
1915 – – 9 #2,659
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Carley?

The median living Carley is about 25 years old. Half of all living Carleys are between 18 and 32 years old.

How many people named Carley are alive today?

An estimated 17 thousand people named Carley are alive in the United States, based on 17,328 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Carley mean?

A female given name from the Germanic languages, a less common spelling of Carly.

How popular is the name Carley in 2025?

Carley ranked #2,725 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 63 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Carley?

17,328 babies have been named Carley in the United States since 1912, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Carley most popular?

Carley peaked in 1998, when 718 newborns received the name.

Is Carley a boy or girl name?

Carley is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Carley rising or falling?

Carley is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Carley become more popular?

Carley is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 40 girls named Carley in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Carley

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

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