# Carlisle (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/carlisle/  
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 | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “fort”, “strength of lugus”, “strength” |
| Pronunciation | /kɑːɹˈlaɪl/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Carlill |
| US babies named this | 2,329 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,862 / 467 (20% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 39, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Carlele, from Middle English Carleol, Carleul, from Cumbric [Term?] (compare Caer Ligualid in the Historia Brittonum, Middle Welsh Caer Liwelydd, Welsh Caerliwelydd, all suffixed with -ydd), composed of Proto-Brythonic *kaɨr (“fort”) + Proto-Brythonic [Term?] (> Latin Luguvalium), from Proto-Celtic *Luguwalos (personal name, literally “strength of Lugus”), from *Lugus + *walos (“strength”). The absence of a suffix comparable to Welsh -ydd in the underlying Cumbric form is unexplained; see w:Cumbric/Absence of -ydd.

## What it means

Carlisle is grouped under strong.

## 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 | 10 | 10,549 |
| 2012 | 10 | 10,594 |
| 2013 | 18 | 6,793 |
| 2014 | 14 | 8,141 |
| 2015 | 14 | 8,090 |
| 2016 | 15 | 7,669 |
| 2017 | 12 | 8,907 |
| 2018 | 13 | 8,241 |
| 2019 | 6 | 14,160 |
| 2020 | 16 | 6,987 |
| 2021 | 12 | 8,580 |
| 2022 | 11 | 9,171 |
| 2023 | 16 | 6,993 |
| 2024 | 12 | 8,552 |
| 2025 | 9 | 10,256 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 23 | 4,248 |
| 2012 | 47 | 2,602 |
| 2013 | 29 | 3,593 |
| 2014 | 35 | 3,164 |
| 2015 | 35 | 3,241 |
| 2016 | 39 | 3,007 |
| 2017 | 40 | 2,964 |
| 2018 | 42 | 2,854 |
| 2019 | 34 | 3,360 |
| 2020 | 40 | 2,936 |
| 2021 | 42 | 2,925 |
| 2022 | 38 | 3,164 |
| 2023 | 34 | 3,429 |
| 2024 | 36 | 3,281 |
| 2025 | 36 | 3,256 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6 | 2,941 |
| 2012 | 4 | 3,987 |
| 2013 | 5 | 3,315 |
| 2014 | 4 | 3,895 |
| 2015 | 3 | 4,747 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,079 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3,334 |
| 2021 | 6 | 3,017 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: كارلايل
- Armenian: Կարլայլ
- Chinese: 卡萊爾 /卡莱尔
- Greek: Κάρλαϊλ
- Irish: Cathair Luail
- Japanese: カーライル
- Latin: Luguvalium, Carliolum
- Welsh: Caerliwelydd

## People named Carlisle

- Carlisle Floyd, American composer (1926–2021)

## 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.