How Many People Are Named Carter?
An estimated 204,143 people in the United States have the first name Carter. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #262 overall. It is predominantly male (95.5%). The average bearer is 15 years old, and Carter peaked in popularity in 2015 with 11,395 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Carter 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 Carter paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Carter is overwhelmingly male, 9,357 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Carter is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 15, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
204,143
About 1 in 1,679 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
95.5% confidence
Average Age
15
years old
Peak Year
2015
11,395 births
Total Registered
210,119
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Carter
Carter is predominantly male (95.5%), though 9,357 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Carter as a male name
Ranked #45 in 2024
6,267 male births in 2024
Peak: 2015 (10,814 births)
Carter as a female name
Ranked #507 in 2024
604 female births in 2024
Peak: 2016 (702 births)
Carter: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Carter span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 99,657 babies were registered. While Carter is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Carter by Decade
How has Carter 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 | 100 | 100 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 134 | 134 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 199 | 199 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 685 | 680 | 5 | |
| 1920s | 901 | 881 | 20 | |
| 1930s | 876 | 863 | 13 | |
| 1940s | 1,378 | 1,340 | 38 | |
| 1950s | 1,676 | 1,612 | 64 | |
| 1960s | 1,390 | 1,345 | 45 | |
| 1970s | 1,458 | 1,360 | 98 | |
| 1980s | 1,847 | 1,683 | 164 | |
| 1990s | 10,248 | 9,725 | 523 | |
| 2000s | 53,340 | 52,320 | 1,020 | |
| 2010s | 99,657 | 95,250 | 4,407 | |
| 2020s | 36,230 | 33,270 | 2,960 | |
Carter by State
Birth registrations for Carter span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, Ohio. The lowest are in Hawaii, Rhode Island, District of Columbia. On average, about 3,990 Carters were registered per state.
Carter + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Carter as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Carter
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Carter: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carter?
We estimate approximately 204,143 people named Carter 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 1,679 Americans share this first name.
Is Carter a common name?
Carter is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 210,119 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Carter most popular?
Carter reached peak popularity in 2015, when 11,395 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Carter is approximately 15 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Carter a male name?
Carter is predominantly male. 95.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Carter Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Carter Smith, Carter Johnson, Carter 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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