# Carla (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/carla/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɑɹlə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Karla |
| US babies named this | 150,815 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 425 / 150,390 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,290, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From German and Italian Carla. By surface analysis, Carl + -a.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 368 | 750 |
| 2012 | 371 | 751 |
| 2013 | 300 | 860 |
| 2014 | 320 | 860 |
| 2015 | 318 | 875 |
| 2016 | 323 | 870 |
| 2017 | 279 | 948 |
| 2018 | 255 | 1,019 |
| 2019 | 253 | 1,018 |
| 2020 | 245 | 1,024 |
| 2021 | 221 | 1,117 |
| 2022 | 291 | 927 |
| 2023 | 267 | 967 |
| 2024 | 254 | 1,009 |
| 2025 | 223 | 1,083 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 9 | 4,121 |
| 1980 | 12 | 3,446 |
| 1981 | 14 | 3,052 |
| 1982 | 12 | 3,516 |
| 1983 | 13 | 3,259 |
| 1984 | 12 | 3,492 |
| 1985 | 11 | 3,834 |
| 1986 | 11 | 3,913 |
| 1987 | 10 | 4,287 |
| 1989 | 9 | 5,222 |
| 1990 | 7 | 6,502 |
| 1991 | 10 | 5,140 |
| 1992 | 7 | 6,758 |
| 1994 | 6 | 7,909 |
| 1995 | 5 | 9,060 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 94 | 449 |
| 2012 | 61 | 679 |
| 2013 | 73 | 561 |
| 2014 | 60 | 663 |
| 2015 | 62 | 656 |
| 2016 | 51 | 768 |
| 2017 | 70 | 604 |
| 2018 | 74 | 560 |
| 2019 | 79 | 513 |
| 2020 | 62 | 617 |
| 2021 | 75 | 537 |
| 2022 | 72 | 541 |
| 2023 | 66 | 583 |
| 2024 | 61 | 638 |
| 2025 | 38 | 922 |

## People named Carla

- Carla Gugino, American actress
- Carla Bley, American jazz composer, pianist, organist and bandleader (1936–2023)
- Carla Laemmle, American actress (1909-2014)
- Carla Bodendorf, East German athlete
- Carla Abellana, Filipino actress
- Carla Del Poggio, actress (1925-2010)
- Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and Secretary of Housing
- Carla Hayden, American librarian and 14th Librarian of Congress (born 1952)
- Carla Overbeck, American soccer player
- Carla Gallo, American actress
- Carla Thomas, American singer (born 1942)
- Carla Rebecchi, Argentine field hockey player

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.