How Many People Are Named Carlton?
An estimated 30,654 people in the United States have the first name Carlton. It is predominantly male (99.4%). The average bearer is 55 years old, and Carlton peaked in popularity in 1957 with 962 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Carlton as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Carlton paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Carlton is overwhelmingly male, 277 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
30,654
About 1 in 11,181 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.4% confidence
Average Age
55
years old
Peak Year
1957
962 births
Total Registered
49,124
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Carlton
Carlton is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 49,124 total births registered, 99.4% were male.
Carlton as a male name
Ranked #2,829 in 2024
45 male births in 2024
Peak: 1957 (955 births)
Carlton as a female name
Ranked #13,873 in 1996
5 female births in 1996
Peak: 1969 (16 births)
Carlton: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Carlton span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 7,967 babies were registered. Carlton has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Carlton by Decade
How has Carlton tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 190 | 190 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 259 | 259 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 451 | 451 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 2,840 | 2,840 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 4,746 | 4,714 | 32 | |
| 1930s | 5,038 | 5,021 | 17 | |
| 1940s | 5,393 | 5,361 | 32 | |
| 1950s | 7,967 | 7,920 | 47 | |
| 1960s | 7,045 | 6,986 | 59 | |
| 1970s | 4,859 | 4,833 | 26 | |
| 1980s | 4,027 | 3,993 | 34 | |
| 1990s | 3,568 | 3,538 | 30 | |
| 2000s | 1,610 | 1,610 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 885 | 885 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 246 | 246 | 0 | |
Carlton by State
Birth registrations for Carlton span all 44 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Georgia, North Carolina. The lowest are in Oregon, North Dakota, Nebraska. On average, about 994 Carltons were registered per state.
Carlton + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Carlton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Carlton
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Carlton: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carlton?
We estimate approximately 30,654 people named Carlton are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 11,181 Americans share this first name.
Is Carlton a common name?
Carlton is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 49,124 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Carlton most popular?
Carlton reached peak popularity in 1957, when 962 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Carlton is approximately 55 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Carlton a male name?
Carlton is predominantly male. 99.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Carlton Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Carlton Smith, Carlton Johnson, Carlton Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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