Popularity of the name Carter, 1881–2025
Carter was at its most popular in 2015, when 10,814 boys were given the name: about 1 in 180 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #24. In 2025, 6,024 boys were named Carter, ranking #45. In all, Social Security counts 206,833 boys named Carter since 1881. Social Security’s records also list 10,038 girls named Carter.
- Peak year
- 2015
- Rank in 2015
- #24
- Babies in 2015
- 10,814
- Rank in 2025
- #45
- Total since 1881
- 206,833
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #24 in 2015 to #45 in 2025: 10,814 boys got it in 2015, and 6,024 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 2010s, when 95,261 boys were named Carter, #30 for the decade. It ranked #607 in the 1880s and #44 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 31 in 1900 (#402), 98 in 1920 (#635), 88 in 1940 (#635), 139 in 1960 (#665), 93 in 1980 (#924), 2,550 in 2000 (#152) and 7,577 in 2020 (#33).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 10,814, in 2015. Its best rank, #24, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1881 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Carter, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 12 | #503 |
| 1883 | 11 | #556 |
| 1884 | 13 | #520 |
| 1885 | 10 | #604 |
| 1886 | 15 | #470 |
| 1887 | 13 | #488 |
| 1888 | 15 | #505 |
| 1889 | 11 | #581 |
| 1890 | 8 | #739 |
| 1891 | 13 | #497 |
| 1892 | 18 | #458 |
| 1893 | 13 | #538 |
| 1894 | 16 | #502 |
| 1895 | 9 | #738 |
| 1896 | 13 | #592 |
| 1897 | 16 | #495 |
| 1898 | 14 | #573 |
| 1899 | 14 | #521 |
| 1900 | 31 | #402 |
| 1901 | 13 | #559 |
| 1902 | 11 | #687 |
| 1903 | 23 | #411 |
| 1904 | 25 | #417 |
| 1905 | 16 | #592 |
| 1906 | 15 | #613 |
| 1907 | 18 | #591 |
| 1908 | 25 | #499 |
| 1909 | 22 | #558 |
| 1910 | 26 | #556 |
| 1911 | 26 | #597 |
| 1912 | 45 | #608 |
| 1913 | 37 | #777 |
| 1914 | 92 | #508 |
| 1915 | 78 | #657 |
| 1916 | 83 | #641 |
| 1917 | 91 | #620 |
| 1918 | 95 | #628 |
| 1919 | 107 | #580 |
| 1920 | 98 | #635 |
| 1921 | 83 | #722 |
| 1922 | 93 | #666 |
| 1923 | 83 | #711 |
| 1924 | 112 | #603 |
| 1925 | 89 | #678 |
| 1926 | 89 | #671 |
| 1927 | 85 | #702 |
| 1928 | 78 | #722 |
| 1929 | 71 | #752 |
| 1930 | 62 | #824 |
| 1931 | 78 | #677 |
| 1932 | 68 | #763 |
| 1933 | 77 | #668 |
| 1934 | 97 | #597 |
| 1935 | 101 | #575 |
| 1936 | 98 | #581 |
| 1937 | 99 | #579 |
| 1938 | 106 | #568 |
| 1939 | 77 | #675 |
| 1940 | 88 | #635 |
| 1941 | 109 | #569 |
| 1942 | 112 | #587 |
| 1943 | 130 | #550 |
| 1944 | 122 | #548 |
| 1945 | 124 | #537 |
| 1946 | 149 | #524 |
| 1947 | 178 | #502 |
| 1948 | 150 | #543 |
| 1949 | 178 | #495 |
| 1950 | 170 | #514 |
| 1951 | 172 | #522 |
| 1952 | 156 | #559 |
| 1953 | 161 | #557 |
| 1954 | 191 | #528 |
| 1955 | 149 | #607 |
| 1956 | 176 | #573 |
| 1957 | 139 | #652 |
| 1958 | 166 | #601 |
| 1959 | 132 | #666 |
| 1960 | 139 | #665 |
| 1961 | 132 | #674 |
| 1962 | 130 | #678 |
| 1963 | 158 | #620 |
| 1964 | 132 | #669 |
| 1965 | 113 | #697 |
| 1966 | 127 | #656 |
| 1967 | 140 | #634 |
| 1968 | 124 | #675 |
| 1969 | 150 | #646 |
| 1970 | 156 | #655 |
| 1971 | 191 | #600 |
| 1972 | 163 | #617 |
| 1973 | 131 | #700 |
| 1974 | 142 | #686 |
| 1975 | 162 | #635 |
| 1976 | 158 | #651 |
| 1977 | 121 | #773 |
| 1978 | 71 | #1,034 |
| 1979 | 64 | #1,116 |
| 1980 | 93 | #924 |
| 1981 | 86 | #971 |
| 1982 | 119 | #809 |
| 1983 | 116 | #811 |
| 1984 | 137 | #742 |
| 1985 | 175 | #670 |
| 1986 | 182 | #665 |
| 1987 | 213 | #624 |
| 1988 | 265 | #569 |
| 1989 | 294 | #565 |
| 1990 | 334 | #549 |
| 1991 | 391 | #498 |
| 1992 | 487 | #450 |
| 1993 | 550 | #419 |
| 1994 | 544 | #421 |
| 1995 | 919 | #286 |
| 1996 | 1,216 | #243 |
| 1997 | 1,540 | #204 |
| 1998 | 1,800 | #189 |
| 1999 | 1,944 | #179 |
| 2000 | 2,550 | #152 |
| 2001 | 3,435 | #111 |
| 2002 | 3,480 | #108 |
| 2003 | 4,171 | #102 |
| 2004 | 5,009 | #89 |
| 2005 | 5,899 | #77 |
| 2006 | 6,433 | #75 |
| 2007 | 6,101 | #80 |
| 2008 | 7,069 | #65 |
| 2009 | 8,173 | #50 |
| 2010 | 8,164 | #48 |
| 2011 | 8,608 | #41 |
| 2012 | 9,274 | #36 |
| 2013 | 9,590 | #33 |
| 2014 | 10,691 | #27 |
| 2015 | 10,814 | #24 |
| 2016 | 10,220 | #26 |
| 2017 | 9,833 | #24 |
| 2018 | 9,385 | #24 |
| 2019 | 8,682 | #30 |
| 2020 | 7,577 | #33 |
| 2021 | 7,205 | #39 |
| 2022 | 6,361 | #47 |
| 2023 | 5,878 | #48 |
| 2024 | 6,289 | #46 |
| 2025 | 6,024 | #45 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.