NameTides

Carter

Carter was the #45 boys' name in the US in 2025 (6,024 babies), and #97 in England & Wales and #66 in Canada.

Carter as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
  • NSW
  • VIC
Carter as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020USScotlandCanadaNorthern IrelandEngland & WalesIreland
Carter as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02.557.5101880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. New South Wales and Victoria publish their top 100 only, so they appear in the rank view and only in years the name made the top 100. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanadaNSWVIC
2025#45 (6,024)#97 (536)#79 (65)#114 (20)#317 (13)#66 (425)#70 (115)#100 (75)
2024#46 (6,289)#103 (520)#72 (71)#114 (20)#179 (28)#68 (400)#76 (105)#94 (83)
2023#48 (5,878)#86 (603)#50 (95)#88 (28)#166 (31)#78 (354)#79 (102)#80 (81)
2022#47 (6,361)#75 (738)#61 (85)#115 (22)#178 (29)#42 (527)#79 (111)#86 (80)
2021#39 (7,205)#69 (825)#58 (91)#82 (36)#215 (23)#44 (583)#63 (147)#73 (98)
2020#33 (7,577)#64 (940)#53 (94)#96 (28)#155 (37)#37 (631)#65 (141)—
2019#30 (8,682)#63 (1,001)#47 (112)#60 (51)#113 (61)#42 (626)#62 (145)#66 (115)
2018#24 (9,385)#60 (1,030)#50 (113)#60 (50)#180 (31)#38 (675)#60 (150)#76 (85)
2017#24 (9,833)#62 (1,025)#69 (95)#53 (56)#134 (46)#33 (782)#76 (121)—
2016#26 (10,220)#82 (839)#69 (105)#60 (54)#184 (31)#28 (845)#82 (126)—
2015#24 (10,814)#94 (689)#123 (51)#77 (45)#190 (30)#23 (1,001)#83 (116)—
2014#27 (10,691)#118 (530)#110 (58)#63 (47)#203 (29)#22 (1,049)——
2013#33 (9,590)#129 (463)#114 (55)#53 (57)#202 (29)#19 (1,108)——
2012#36 (9,274)#135 (461)#138 (45)#60 (55)#221 (26)#19 (1,112)——
2011#41 (8,608)#194 (274)#189 (27)#80 (44)#302 (15)#26 (997)——

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 2015 at #24.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • First recorded in the US in 1881.
  • In 2025, 10% of US babies named Carter were girls.

How common is it?

about 1 in 280 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet about 4. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 280common
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 510common
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 300common
Northern IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 410common
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 1,800uncommon
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 370common

Next year

On its recent trend, Carter is likely to keep falling in the US in 2026: about 1 in 300 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 270 to 1 in 330.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Carter by state, 2025Alaska: #27AKMaine: #38MEWisconsin: #36WIVermont: #33VTNew Hampshire: #16NHWashington: #53WAIdaho: #22IDMontana: #43MTNorth Dakota: #32NDMinnesota: #57MNIllinois: #43ILMichigan: #32MINew York: #57NYMassachusetts: #52MAOregon: #42ORNevada: #64NVWyoming: #7WYSouth Dakota: #41SDIowa: #44IAIndiana: #31INOhio: #24OHPennsylvania: #31PANew Jersey: #65NJConnecticut: #39CTRhode Island: #61RICalifornia: #102CAUtah: #75UTColorado: #42CONebraska: #39NEMissouri: #37MOKentucky: #21KYWest Virginia: #15WVVirginia: #33VAMaryland: #43MDDelaware: #16DEArizona: #72AZNew Mexico: #53NMKansas: #22KSArkansas: #18ARTennessee: #29TNNorth Carolina: #28NCSouth Carolina: #23SCDistrict of Columbia: #55DCOklahoma: #31OKLouisiana: #25LAMississippi: #31MSAlabama: #23ALGeorgia: #25GAHawaii: #69HITexas: #80TXFlorida: #49FL
Carter (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#55198
Quebec2025#35313

Carter (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
CarterCanadaGirls#1,14123
CarterCanadaBoys#66425
CarterEngland & WalesGirls#4,8674
CarterEngland & WalesBoys#97536
CarterIrelandBoys#31713
CarterNorthern IrelandGirls—too few
CarterNorthern IrelandBoys#11420
CarterNSWBoys#70115
CarterScotlandGirls—too few
CarterScotlandBoys#7965
CarterUSGirls#454679
CarterUSBoys#456,024
CarterVICBoys#10075