US Name Trends

Carla

The Italian feminine of Carlo, from the Germanic karl, “free man.”

1962peak year
No. 76best rank (1965)
150,815babies since 1880
outside top 1000 in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Carla per year — peak 5,820▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Carla first shows up in the national records in 1890. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1961 to 1970. Its biggest year was 1962, when 5,820 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 78 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1965, at No. 76. All told, 150,815 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Karla (91,895), Carola (1,170) (total births since 1880)

Explore Carla interactively →

By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1890s11No. 1278
1900s54No. 1227
1910s171No. 1071
1920s550No. 617
1930s2,262No. 342
1940s9,486No. 179
1950s29,432No. 118
1960s47,905No. 76
1970s26,841No. 94
1980s14,455No. 152
1990s8,400No. 263
2000s6,167No. 386
2010s3,155No. 750
2020s1,501No. 927

Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper

Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.