Carter
Carter was the 45th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 6,024 babies. Its best year was 2015, when it ranked 24th with 10,814 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 21 places. More babies were named Carter in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning cart driver (surname) · English, Irish
Say it KAR-ter /ˈkɑrtər/
- Rank in 2025
- #45 boys, down 12 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 6,024boys
- Girls and boys
- 9% girls, 91% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 201510,814 babies
- Total since 1880
- 216,871babies recorded
What does the name Carter mean?
Carter is mainly an English occupational surname for someone who drove a cart and carried goods. Wiktionary adds an Irish source, Mac Artúir, 'son of Arthur'. It is now used as a first name.
carter (English, “one who drives a cart”)Mac Artúir (Irish, “son of Arthur”)
How sure is this? Probable. Wikipedia traces the word further back to a Celtic word for cart; that chain needs a scholarly check.
See also: English names, names from occupations.
Carter popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #454 | #45 | 679 | 6,024 |
| 2020 | #515 | #33 | 587 | 7,577 |
| 2010 | #1,432 | #48 | 160 | 8,164 |
| 2000 | #1,872 | #152 | 91 | 2,550 |
| 1990 | #3,375 | #549 | 32 | 334 |
| 1980 | #7,519 | #924 | 8 | 93 |
| 1970 | #5,455 | #655 | 9 | 156 |
| 1960 | — | #665 | — | 139 |
| 1950 | #4,373 | #515 | 7 | 170 |
| 1940 | #3,930 | #635 | 6 | 88 |
| 1930 | — | #824 | — | 62 |
| 1920 | #5,097 | #636 | 5 | 98 |
| 1910 | — | #557 | — | 26 |
| 1900 | — | #403 | — | 31 |
| 1890 | — | #757 | — | 8 |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Carter, counting every spelling?
Carter is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #35 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #45 for Carter on its own. Together these spellings went to 7,289 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter | 6,024 | #45 | 31,757 |
| Karter | 1,265 | #270 | 7,955 |
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 Carter?
6,024 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Carter (1.67 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Carter born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 32. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 1 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Carter.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Carter?
About 200,200 people born in the US named Carter are alive today, with a median age of 13; half are between 8 and 19. That makes Carter 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.
Carter by state
How common Carter was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wyoming (2.7×), Maine (2.5×), New Hampshire (2.5×), Delaware (2.4×), Vermont (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, Texas, Nevada.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Carter: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Carter, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Carter · Sibling names for Carter
Questions about the name Carter
What does Carter mean?
Carter means “cart driver (surname)” (English, Irish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Carter?
Carter was the 45th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 6,024 babies. Its best year was 2015, when it ranked 24th with 10,814 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 21 places. More babies were named Carter in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Carter a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 9% girls, 91% boys given the name Carter in the US.
Where is Carter most popular?
In 2021–2025, Carter was most common in Wyoming (9.85 per 1,000 boys), followed by Maine and New Hampshire.