# Carter (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/carter/  
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 |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | “son of arthur” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɑɹɾɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 216,871 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 206,833 / 10,038 (5% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 12,089, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

As an English name, from the occupation carter. As an Irish name, from Irish Mac Artúir (literally “son of Arthur”).

## 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 | 195 | 1,229 |
| 2012 | 246 | 1,031 |
| 2013 | 300 | 861 |
| 2014 | 355 | 790 |
| 2015 | 581 | 539 |
| 2016 | 703 | 457 |
| 2017 | 602 | 520 |
| 2018 | 655 | 479 |
| 2019 | 611 | 514 |
| 2020 | 587 | 515 |
| 2021 | 622 | 501 |
| 2022 | 553 | 550 |
| 2023 | 594 | 510 |
| 2024 | 605 | 508 |
| 2025 | 679 | 454 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 8,608 | 41 |
| 2012 | 9,274 | 36 |
| 2013 | 9,590 | 33 |
| 2014 | 10,691 | 27 |
| 2015 | 10,814 | 24 |
| 2016 | 10,220 | 26 |
| 2017 | 9,833 | 24 |
| 2018 | 9,385 | 24 |
| 2019 | 8,682 | 30 |
| 2020 | 7,577 | 33 |
| 2021 | 7,205 | 39 |
| 2022 | 6,361 | 47 |
| 2023 | 5,878 | 48 |
| 2024 | 6,289 | 46 |
| 2025 | 6,024 | 45 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3 | 5,691 |
| 2016 | 5 | 4,096 |
| 2017 | 5 | 4,063 |
| 2018 | 9 | 2,674 |
| 2019 | 4 | 4,686 |
| 2020 | 7 | 3,117 |
| 2022 | 7 | 3,148 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,843 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4,867 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 274 | 194 |
| 2012 | 461 | 135 |
| 2013 | 463 | 129 |
| 2014 | 530 | 118 |
| 2015 | 689 | 94 |
| 2016 | 839 | 82 |
| 2017 | 1,025 | 62 |
| 2018 | 1,030 | 60 |
| 2019 | 1,001 | 63 |
| 2020 | 940 | 64 |
| 2021 | 825 | 69 |
| 2022 | 738 | 75 |
| 2023 | 603 | 86 |
| 2024 | 520 | 103 |
| 2025 | 536 | 97 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: كارتر
- Armenian: Քարթեր
- Bulgarian: Ка́ртър
- Chinese: 卡特
- Georgian: კარტერი
- Greek: Κάρτερ
- Hindi: कार्टर
- Japanese: カーター
- Korean: 카터
- Polish: Carter
- Russian: Ка́ртер
- Ukrainian: Ка́ртер

## People named Carter

- Carter Jenkins, American actor
- Carter Burwell, American film composer (born 1954)
- Carter Cruise, American pornographic actress
- Carter Braxton, American politician (1736-1797), signer of the Declaration of Independence
- Carter Glass, American politician (1858–1946)
- Carter Godwin Woodson, American historian, writer, and journalist (1875–1950)
- Carter DeHaven, actor, director, writer (1886-1977)
- Carter Bays, American television writer and producer
- Joseph Carter Abbott, American general, senator (1825-1881)
- Carter Hart, Canadian ice hockey player
- Carter Beauford, American musician
- Carter Hutton, Canadian ice 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.