Carter

“Cart driver (English) or son of Arthur (Irish)” — English occupational or Irish patronymic origin

Girl's name · #454 in the US (2025) · Trending

Carter is climbing: on the charts since 1918, it reached #454 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet, with about 680 girls given the name last year. Roughly 10,000 have carried it all-time. It is also an American family name — about 377,000 people carry it as a surname, according to US census data. About 91% of babies named Carter in recent years have been boys. Together with its spelling variant Karter (#989), Carter would rank around #327 with about 940 births last year — the newborns split about 73/27 between Carter and Karter.

Around the world: about 1 in 6,400 girls in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 39 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Carters

Carter Heyward — American feminist theologian and priest (born 1945)
Carter Faith — American country musician (born 1999)

In stories & tradition

Carter Ghazikhanian — Earth-616
Carter Calvert — It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues
Carter — Princess Protection Program

What Carters become

Among 249 notable people named Carter:

Similar names: Karter · Blaire · Charli · Murphy · Karsyn · Miller

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service