girls' name ★ peaked 1995

Carly

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,009 Trend ↓ Falling 43%

A feminine form of Carl with -y, taken to use in the latter half of the 20th century; also a pet form of Carla, Carlene and Carlotta.

Rank 2025
#1,009
among girls · ↓134 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
248
named Carly · -19% vs 2024
How common
1 in 6,481
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1995
2,585 babies
All-time total
66,626
#498 all-time among girls
First recorded
1951
in Social Security records

Carly popularity over time

66,626 babies have been named Carly since 1951, 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
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s 24 – 24 2 – #4,540
1960s 7 – 7 1 -71% #6,037
1970s 2,980 14 2,994 299 +42671% #345
1980s 12,475 73 12,548 1,255 +319% #175
1990s 22,791 52 22,843 2,284 +82% #122
2000s 16,688 21 16,709 1,671 -27% #169
2010s 9,300 – 9,300 930 -44% #218
2020s (to 2025) 2,201 – 2,201 367 -61% #621

Where Carly 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 224 0.14 outside top 500
2027 206 0.13 outside top 500
2028 191 0.12 outside top 500
2029 180 0.11 outside top 500
2030 171 0.11 outside top 500

Where Carly is most popular

Girls named Carly per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.213 per 1,000. Strongest in New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Kentucky.

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 Carly 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
New Hampshire 10 0.542 +154%
Oklahoma 36 0.489 +129%
Kentucky 39 0.456 +114%
Iowa 25 0.428 +101%
Indiana 59 0.420 +97%
West Virginia 11 0.420 +97%
Maryland 42 0.396 +86%
Missouri 42 0.348 +63%
Ohio 82 0.346 +62%
Wisconsin 32 0.311 +46%
Connecticut 18 0.309 +45%
Massachusetts 37 0.306 +44%
Nebraska 11 0.306 +44%
Minnesota 33 0.306 +43%
Tennessee 48 0.303 +42%
Utah 25 0.300 +41%
Pennsylvania 69 0.292 +37%
North Carolina 65 0.285 +34%
New Jersey 51 0.283 +33%
Michigan 48 0.264 +24%
Virginia 44 0.258 +21%
South Carolina 23 0.256 +20%
Alabama 22 0.234 +10%
New York 89 0.225 +5%
Arizona 30 0.214 ≈ national
Florida 86 0.201 -6%
Texas 156 0.194 -9%
Colorado 21 0.188 -12%
Illinois 43 0.188 -12%
Washington 25 0.173 -19%
California 142 0.169 -21%
Georgia 38 0.167 -22%
Kansas 7 0.121 -43%
Nevada 5 0.108 -50%
Oregon 5 0.077 -64%
Louisiana 6 0.069 -68%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Carly

Carly is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,009 in 2025 with 248 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1951, 66,626 American babies have been named Carly. Its peak came in 1995, when 2,585 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 Carly stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Carly?

The median living Carly is about 28 years old; half are between 19 and 35. An estimated 66 thousand people named Carly are alive in the United States today.

median 28 020406080100

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

Carly 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 248 #1,009 – –
2024 308 #875 – –
2023 361 #780 – –
2022 366 #778 – –
2021 447 #664 – –
2020 471 #621 – –
2019 536 #567 – –
2018 655 #478 – –
2017 695 #456 – –
2016 807 #413 – –
2015 846 #389 – –
2014 916 #357 – –
2013 1,019 #322 – –
2012 1,110 #285 – –
2011 1,277 #248 – –
2010 1,439 #218 – –
2009 1,508 #215 – –
2008 1,685 #197 – –
2007 1,323 #261 6 #11,138
2006 1,351 #252 – –
2005 1,749 #199 – –
2004 1,926 #177 9 #7,617
2003 1,762 #183 – –
2002 1,590 #206 – –
2001 1,833 #176 6 #9,437
2000 1,961 #169 – –
1995 2,585 #122 – –
1990 1,777 #163 7 #6,504
1985 1,311 #202 7 #5,220
1980 752 #322 – –
1975 318 #543 – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Carly

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

  1. 1 Carly Simon Carly Simon American musician (born 1943) b. 1945 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen Canadian singer and songwriter (born 1985) Contemporary
  3. 3 Carly Pope Carly Pope Canadian actress (born 1980) Contemporary
  4. 4 Carly Chaikin Carly Chaikin American actress b. 1990 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Carly Fiorina Carly Fiorina American businesswoman and politician (born 1954) Contemporary
  6. 6 Carly Schroeder Carly Schroeder Former American actress b. 1990 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Carly Rose Sonenclar Carly Rose Sonenclar American singer and actress b. 1999 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Carly Patterson Carly Patterson American singer and gymnast (born 1988) Contemporary
  9. 9 Carly Colón Carly Colón Puerto Rican professional wrestler (born 1979) Contemporary
  10. 10 Carly Gullickson Carly Gullickson American tennis player (born 1986) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Carly?

The median living Carly is about 28 years old. Half of all living Carlys are between 19 and 35 years old.

How many people named Carly are alive today?

An estimated 66 thousand people named Carly are alive in the United States, based on 66,626 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Carly mean?

A feminine form of Carl with -y, taken to use in the latter half of the 20th century; also a pet form of Carla, Carlene and Carlotta.

How popular is the name Carly in 2025?

Carly ranked #1,009 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 248 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Carly?

66,626 babies have been named Carly in the United States since 1951, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Carly most popular?

Carly peaked in 1995, when 2,585 newborns received the name.

Is Carly a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Carly rising or falling?

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

Will Carly become more popular?

Carly is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 171 girls named Carly in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Carly?

Well-known people named Carly include Carly Simon (singer), Carly Rae Jepsen (singer), Carly Pope (actor).

Names like Carly

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

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