Carla
Italian and Spanish feminine form of Carlo or Carl, which descend from a Germanic word karl meaning 'free man'. The same word lies behind English Charles.
Carla in 2025
Carla was given to 223 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 2,058th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 14,867 babies born.
The history of Carla
Carla reached its highest point in 1961, when 5,829 babies were given the name, ranking 148th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 147th, in 1966.
Across the 136 years of records since 1890, 150,815 babies have been named Carla. Half of them were born before 1966, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Carla by decade
| Decade | Babies named Carla | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 11 | 2,124 |
| 1900s | 54 | 1,915 |
| 1910s | 171 | 1,817 |
| 1920s | 550 | 1,123 |
| 1930s | 2,262 | 645 |
| 1940s | 9,497 | 340 |
| 1950s | 29,490 | 226 |
| 1960s | 48,024 | 147 |
| 1970s | 26,939 | 169 |
| 1980s | 14,559 | 300 |
| 1990s | 8,435 | 511 |
| 2000s | 6,167 | 733 |
| 2010s | 3,155 | 1,383 |
| 2020s | 1,501 | 1,740 |
Where Carla is heading
Carla has fallen 30% over the past decade, from 318 babies in 2015 to 223 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1961 peak — Carla is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Carla
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Carla.