Carly
Carly was the 1009th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 248 babies. Its best year was 1995, when it ranked 122nd with 2,585 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 620 places. More babies were named Carly in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning feminine of Carl (free man) · Germanic, English
Say it KAR-lee /ˈkɑrli/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,009 girls, down 388 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 248girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19952,585 babies
- Total since 1880
- 66,626babies recorded
What does the name Carly mean?
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)
Carly popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 160 since 1973.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,009 | 248 |
| 2020 | #621 | 471 |
| 2010 | #218 | 1,439 |
| 2000 | #169 | 1,961 |
| 1990 | #163 | 1,777 |
| 1980 | #322 | 752 |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Carly, counting every spelling?
Carly is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #374 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,009 for Carly 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 Carly?
248 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Carly (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Carly 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 34 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Carly.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Carly?
About 65,200 people born in the US named Carly are alive today, with a median age of 29; half are between 20 and 36. That makes Carly 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.
Carly by state
How common Carly was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Oklahoma (2.3×), Kentucky (2.1×), Iowa (2.0×), Indiana (2.0×), Maryland (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Louisiana, Oregon, Nevada.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Carly: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Carly, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Carly · Sibling names for Carly
Carly is also a nickname for Carla.
Questions about the name Carly
What does Carly mean?
Carly means “feminine of Carl (free man)” (Germanic, English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Carly?
Carly was the 1009th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 248 babies. Its best year was 1995, when it ranked 122nd with 2,585 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 620 places. More babies were named Carly in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Carly a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Carly in the US.
Where is Carly most popular?
In 2021–2025, Carly was most common in New Hampshire (0.54 per 1,000 girls), followed by Oklahoma and Kentucky.