Carlie
Carlie was the 2657th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 65 babies. Its best year was 1998, when it ranked 469th; the most babies were born in 2004 (586). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,612 places. More babies were named Carlie in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Carly) feminine of Carl (free man) · Germanic, English
- Rank in 2025
- #2,657 girls, down 1,171 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 65girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2004586 babies
- Total since 1880
- 16,311babies recorded
What does the name Carlie mean?
Carlie is a spelling of Carly, pronounced the same way, so it shares Carly's meaning and origin.
Carly is a feminine form of Carl with -y, taken into use in the second half of the 20th century, according to Wiktionary, and also a pet form of Carla, Carlene and Carlotta. Carl and Charles go back to a Germanic word for man or free man, as DMNES explains for Charles. Carly has been used in the US since 1951 and was most common in the mid-1990s.
karl (Old High German, “man, free man”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Carla, Carlie, Karly, Charlotte, Carl.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Carly' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Charles', DMNES (Durham University)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Carla', DMNES (Durham University)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Carlie popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,292 since 1889.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,657 | 65 |
| 2020 | #1,486 | 144 |
| 2010 | #781 | 353 |
| 2000 | #501 | 540 |
| 1990 | #925 | 206 |
| 1980 | #1,608 | 72 |
| 1970 | #4,260 | 13 |
| 1960 | #6,479 | 5 |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | #4,448 | 5 |
| 1930 | #1,946 | 18 |
| 1920 | #3,137 | 10 |
| 1910 | #1,970 | 7 |
| 1900 | #1,238 | 10 |
| 1890 | #1,359 | 5 |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Carlie, counting every spelling?
Carlie is a spelling of Carly, a name family that ranked #374 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #2,657 for Carlie on its own. Together these spellings went to 886 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | 248 | #1,009 | 1,730 |
| Karlee | 103 | #1,898 | 801 |
| Carlee | 101 | #1,911 | 654 |
| Karlie | 85 | #2,179 | 624 |
| Carley | 63 | #2,725 | 387 |
| Carlie | 65 | #2,657 | 384 |
| Karli | 64 | #2,708 | 370 |
| Karly | 66 | #2,631 | 352 |
| Karley | 46 | #3,362 | 346 |
| Carli | 45 | #3,408 | 294 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Carlie?
65 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Carlie (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Carlie born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 129 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Carlie.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Carlie?
About 14,200 people born in the US named Carlie are alive today, with a median age of 25; half are between 18 and 32. That makes Carlie mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Carlie by state
How common Carlie was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 43 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Carlie: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Carlie, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Carlie
What does Carlie mean?
Carlie is a spelling of Carly, which means “feminine of Carl (free man)” (Germanic, English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Carlie?
Carlie was the 2657th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 65 babies. Its best year was 1998, when it ranked 469th; the most babies were born in 2004 (586). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,612 places. More babies were named Carlie in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Carlie a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Carlie in the US.
Where is Carlie most popular?
In 2021–2025, Carlie was most common in Ohio (0.05 per 1,000 girls), followed by Florida and Georgia.